Heroes and Legacies Book 2: To Save A Parent
by pegasusdmac
Summary: When the Golden Fleece is stolen, Lexie gets a quest to recover it. Can she and CJ find it before her ailing mother succumbs to the poison that's killing her life-force, her tree?
1. Chapter 1

1. Stampede!

"Would you two stop it?"

My parents pulled their lips apart and looked at me.

"You're embarrassing me."

We were standing on the curb outside my high school's auditorium as all the sports teams were filing out from the awards ceremony. Nobody else's parents were kissing right there on the sidewalk. Why couldn't mine be normal or at least, pretend to be?

My mom let go of my dad and wrapped her arms around me instead. "Mom, this really isn't any better," I groaned.

"Sorry, CJ, you'll just have to deal with it. I won't see you for three months, so you're getting a hug whether you like it or not."

I rolled my eyes, but hugged her back. As much as I didn't like to admit it, I'd miss her over the summer. As my mom and I said our goodbyes, Dad hailed her a cab. She had to go back to the office, so it would be just me and Dad making the trip to camp.

After Mom got into her cab, I turned to my dad, "Come on, let's go."

As we climbed into Mom's car, Dad laughed, "Are you in a hurry?"

Heck yes, I was in a hurry. "I'm already three weeks late."

Baseball went late this year. Our team was on fire this season. We made the state championship, and some of us played on the state's all-star team, which bled into the summer. The athletics awards today marked the end of school related sports stuff, so I could finally go to camp now.

I removed my necktie and buckled my seatbelt. Dad was just about to pull out when there was a knock on my window; it was Nic. I rolled the window down.

"Off to baseball camp?" she asked.

I nodded, "Yep."

"Well, have fun," she smiled.

"I will, and you have fun in Florida." She had plans to visit her aunt in Florida for her summer vacation.

She grinned widely, "Count on it. I think I'll to learn to surf while I'm there."

Gods, that sounded like fun. "Just try not to get eaten by a shark," I teased.

"I'll do my best," she laughed. "Well, I'll let you two get on the road. Bye, Mr. Jackson."

"Bye, Nicole," Dad said to her.

"See ya, Chase. Call me if you get a chance."

I nodded, "Will do. Bye, Nic."

Dad pulled out onto the street and cut his eyes at me, "Remind me again why you two aren't dating."

I wish I knew. It seemed like every time I got up the nerve to ask her, I choked. I shrugged, "I don't know, Dad."

"It wouldn't have anything to do with a certain young lady at camp, would it?"

"_No_," I insisted. I knew he was talking about Lexie, but she had nothing to do with why I hadn't asked Nic out. Besides, Lexie and I were just friends, and she had a boyfriend; she and Russ had been a couple for a while now.

Dad grinned, "Are you sure about that?"

"I'm done talking about this," I said as I leaned forward and turned up the music.

We'd been out of the city and on the open road for about half an hour when Dad pulled into a gas station. He didn't pull up to a gas pump, so I figured he had to pee or something, but he surprised me when he said, "Get out of the car."

I pulled my sunglasses down and looked over at him, "Huh?"

He opened his door and said, "Get out. You're driving."

I tried to contain my excitement, "Are you serious?"

He laughed, "Well, yeah."

I jumped out of the car and ran around to the driver's side. So much for containing my excitement. I'd just gotten my learners permit a few months before, and I had driven a little, but I definitely needed more practice. I sat down in the driver's seat, buckled my seatbelt, adjusted my mirrors, then pulled out onto the road.

Now, had I been with Mom, she would've been giving me step-by-step instructions on how to correctly operate a motor vehicle, and it would've annoyed the crap out of me, but Dad, he just slumped down in his seat like he was planning to take a nap. I guess he figured he'd been in more perilous situations than riding in a car with a fifteen year old behind the wheel. Little did I know, I was about to blast that theory all to hell.

Volvos are supposed to be among the safest cars on the road, but safe is a relative term. When I looked into the rearview mirror to see a stampede of four huge horses with fire expelling from their nostrils closing in on us, I felt anything but safe.

"Dad."

He stirred in his seat a bit, but didn't wake up.

"Dad, wake up." I was trying to stay calm.

"Hmm."

I shook his shoulder with my right hand, "Dad!"

"Are we there already?" he yawned.

"No, we've got trouble."

He straightened in his seat, "Trouble? What kind of…" He must've looked in the mirror and seen the monsters closing on us. "Step on it!"

I pushed the accelerator to the floor. The speedometer ran up: 70, 80, 90 miles per hour, but with my inexperience, it felt like mach 5. My heart was racing as I swerved through traffic, avoiding vehicles by mere inches.

"Dad, I can't do this! I'm gonna wreck!" I yelled in panic.

"Calm down, Chase. Just focus on the road. I'll handle the Mares."

Calm down? I was driving a hundred miles an hour down a four-lane blacktop with a herd of fire-breathing, flesh-eating horses chasing me. I most certainly was _not_ going to _calm down. _

Surprisingly, the traffic began to clear a path for me. The only reason I could think of was that the Mist was likely making it look like we were being chased by four police cars with lights flashing and sirens blaring rather than horses that were bigger than Clydesdales and meaner than Ares.

Dad rolled down his window and stuck his head out. "What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I'll try to talk some sense into them." Oh, right, he could talk to horses. "Hey!" he yelled at the Mares. "I'm the son of Poseidon!"

I don't know what exactly those rabid horses said back, but Dad grumbled under his breath, "Not again." He must've dealt with flesh-eating horses before. "No, not seafood!" he yelled. "I'm your lord! I command you to stop!"

Dad brought himself back into the car. "Well?" I asked.

"Yeah, that didn't work. They think you're shrimp and I'm lobster."

Shrimp? They thought I was a _shrimp_? I slammed on the brake. Dad hit the dashboard, and the horses went racing past us.

"Put your seatbelt back on," I told him.

I jerked the wheel to the left and punched the accelerator. The car spun 180 degrees, and I never let off the gas. I sped down the road traveling west instead of east, now. As I swerved around oncoming traffic, Dad gripped the armrest like he was holding on for dear life. I looked into the mirror to see the horses were bearing down on us again. I switched lanes from right to left and back again, trying to use the traffic to impede the Mares' pursuit. It wasn't really working. The horses just leaped over the cars or in some cases ran right into them, knocking the vehicles out of their path.

One of the horses was right on our bumper, and I could smell paint burning as the Mare's fiery breath scorched the trunk of Mom's car; she was going to be so pissed. I noticed a semi-truck up ahead, so I drove right up behind it, and at the very last second before I'd hit it, I swerved right. The Mare on our bumper didn't anticipate the move, and she plowed into the back of the tractor-trailer.

"Woo!" I yelled with excitement. "One down, three to go!"

"Chase, let one get up along side us," Dad said as he pulled Riptide from his pocket.

As Dad removed his seatbelt and rolled his window back down, I slowed just enough to let one of the Mares catch up to us, but instead of going for Dad's side of the car, she came up along my side. She put her head down and slammed it into the driver's door…hard. The window shattered, and glass filled my lap. It's a wonder the airbags didn't deploy. The force of the impact pushed the car over two lanes to the right, and I was almost on the shoulder before I regained control.

"You alright?" Dad asked.

"I'm fine. Hang on!"

I turned the wheel to the left and slammed the car into the horse just like she'd done to the car. She stumbled, and it gave me the opportunity to pull up alongside her where she would be on Dad's side. Dad hung out the window and uncapped his ballpoint pen. It grew into a three-foot long celestial bronze sword that he drove into the neck of the giant horse. The Mare reared up and screeched in pain before bursting into a cloud of combustion then ash.

"No seafood for you," Dad chuckled.

I looked back to see one of the Mares still chasing us, but the other one was nowhere to be seen, that is, until I looked forward. Somehow she'd gotten ahead of us and was now barreling straight at us like she wanted to play a really messed-up game of chicken. I had no interest in playing; I knew I couldn't win. I jerked the wheel to the left, and the car went into a spin. I fought with the wheel until I finally got the car straightened out in the eastbound lane. The two Mares, who were running at full speed, collided with one another and hit the pavement, rolling head over tail.

"Whoa!" I gasped. "Did you see that?"

"They won't be down long," Dad said. "Just keep driving. There's a bridge a few miles up ahead. Stop on it."

"You want me to stop on the bridge?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I just hope the creek's not dry."

Dad was right; they didn't stay down long. Soon, they were back in pursuit and catching up fast. I could see the bridge he was talking about up ahead, but I didn't know if we'd make it there before the horses caught up to us. I was driving as fast as I could without losing control. Much over 100 and the car felt like it was floating, so I kept it at about 95.

We were closing on the bridge when Dad opened the moon roof. I didn't know what he had up his sleeve, but whatever it was, it was bound to be interesting.

He climbed out of his seat and began to stand up on the center console, "Gods, I wish Dakota was here to see this."

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. Just get ready to stop. We're almost at the bridge."

Dad stuck his upper body out of the moon roof, and when we were close enough to the bridge, I yelled, "Hang on, Dad!"

I pulled the e-brake, and the car went into a sideways slide onto the bridge. I'd timed it perfectly. The car came to a stop dead center on the bridge.

Dad was half-out of the car through the moon roof and had his arms thrust out to his sides. The horses were on a collision course with us and they were closing fast. Suddenly, two waterspouts rose up out of the creek, one on each side of the bridge. The swirling tornadoes of water that Dad had created and was controlling, emerged onto the bridge, and he waited patiently for the Mares to get close. When the horses were almost on top of us, Dad thrust his arms toward them, and the waterspouts obeyed his command. Each tornado slammed into a Mare, lifted the enormous horses off the ground, and had them in the spin-cycle. Dad maneuvered his arms to his sides and the tornadoes mimicked his movement. Both waterspouts had a Mare spinning in its belly, and as they neared the edge of the bridge, Dad slammed his hands down onto the roof of the car, which startled me, and I nearly jumped out of my seat. The tornadoes dove over the edge of the bridge and dissipated as they hit the creek bottom. The Mares splashed down into the creek and were quickly washed away by the swift current.

I blinked. That was so cool. I've seen Dad do some pretty wicked stuff with water, but it never ceases to amaze me how creative he can be in volatile situations.

Dad eased his body back into the car and settled back into his seat. He groaned, "I'm getting too old for this."

"I thought you did pretty awesome…for an old man."

"Ha, ha, shut-up."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Speaking of awesome," he said. "Where in Hades did you learn to drive like that?"

I shrugged, "Playstation."

He burst out laughing, then ruffled my already messy hair, "Well, you did good, kid. Now, come on, let's get moving before the cops show up."

I put the car in gear and resumed the drive toward camp. "Hey, Dad," I said. "Does it ever bother you to kill horses like that?"

"Maybe, a little, but those weren't horses, they were monsters. When you're in a kill or be killed situation like that, you do what you have to do."

I know he's had to make sacrifices in the past to save himself and the people he cared about. Even if that meant doing things that didn't seem right. Those Mares were monsters, and they would've killed us given the chance, but they were still creatures of Poseidon, which must've made killing them conflicting for Dad. And I learned a valuable lesson right then: know where your deepest loyalties lie. Dad's loyalty was to me.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, I pulled up to the base of Half-Blood Hill. I had to crawl across the car and exit on the passenger's side, because, of course, the driver's side door was jammed shut. I grabbed my duffel from the back seat and walked up to my dad who was examining the beat-up Volvo.

"Tell Mom I'm really sorry about her car."

"Eh, don't worry about it," he shrugged. "We've got insurance."

"Insurance that covers _stampede of fire-breathing horses_?"

Dad scratched his head, "Yeah, I don't know how I'm going to explain _that_ to the claims adjustor."

I laughed, "I'm sure you'll think of something." I looked toward the hill, then looked back at him, "Well, I guess this is it. Be careful driving home."

"I will, and you be careful on your adventures this summer."

I smiled, "Always."

He hugged me tightly, "I love you, son."

"I know, Dad. I love you, too."

He released me from the hug, but still gripped my shoulders, "If you ever need anything…"

"You're just an Iris message away," I nodded.

He smiled, "Have fun this summer."

"I intend to. See you in a few months."

"See you in a few months."

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**


	2. Chapter 2

2. I Lose My Cool

I walked toward the Big House to check in with Chiron, and let him know I was finally here at camp, but as I walked down the path, I noticed something was off. Nobody was around. Normally, there would be campers playing in the volleyball pit, running through the strawberry fields, and climbing the rock wall, but there was no one. Camp looked deserted, and it was eerily quiet except for the sound of a voice echoing in the amphitheatre. I decided to forego checking in and headed straight for the echoing voice. As I got closer to the amphitheatre, I recognized the voice belonged to Russ, the son of Ares who I didn't really get along with.

"He's nothing more than a demigod wannabe," Russ' voice rang as I walked into the crowded amphitheatre. Nearly every seat was full, and many nymphs and satyrs were standing off to the side of the stage listening to the son of Ares give his speech.

I saw Grover and walked up to him, "Hey Grover, what's going on?"

"Chase," he whispered with surprise. "You're here. When did you get here?"

"Just now."

Russ continued his address, and I began to listen to what he was saying, "He's just a spoiled rich kid from Brooklyn who thinks he has some kind of right to be here because his parents are demigods. And that curse of his is useless. What's the point of being invulnerable if he doesn't have any powers?"

My palm went straight to my forehead. He was talking about me. "I'm from Manhattan, you jackass," I grumbled under my breath. No self-respecting Greek would be caught dead in Brooklyn. That borough's just…weird.

"And this idea of him being the child of prophecy may be true; he_ is_ the one who set the prophecy in motion, after all, but he had the chance to prevent it all together, and he blew it, just like he's blown everything else he's done."

"That's not fair!" I heard Noah speak up on my behalf. "We don't know if letting Barka die would've brought an end to the Rebellion and their mission."

"It wouldn't have hurt, Noah," Russ said. "It would've been a great first step, that's for sure. And it doesn't surprise me that you're taking up for him. You pretenders have to stick together, don't you?"

Noah didn't say another word, and I don't blame him. He didn't need anymore bad press. Being a demititan, it was already hard enough for him to fit in. What I wanted to know was why no one else took up for me…like Lexie. Did they believe what Russ was saying about me? Was what he was saying the truth?

Russ glanced around the theatre and when he saw me, he put on an evil grin, "And look who it is."

Everyone turned and stared at me, and I had the urge to check if my fly was down.

"Well, Jackson, don't you look pretty," he said, no doubt talking about my terribly uncomfortable attire. "See what I'm talking about, guys. He comes in here wearing his designer clothes and his three-hundred dollar Versace sunglasses, and he thinks he's something special."

Grover jerked my sunglasses off my face, "These cost three-hundred dollars!"

I took back my eyewear and shrugged, "I don't know, Grover. Mom bought 'em for me."

"Where have you been, Jackson?" Russ asked. "You been hanging out with your friends in the Rebellion? Is that why you're three weeks late to camp?"

Where the hell did that come from? "What makes you think I've had contact with anyone in the Rebellion?"

"They want you in their group. They tried to recruit you last summer. Who's to say they didn't try it again. I mean, come on, you're basically one of them, anyway. Why don't you just join them and get out of our camp. We'll find someone capable to fulfill the prophecy."

This guy was really pissing me off, "What's your problem, man? What have I ever done to you?"

"You've done nothing…that's the problem."

"What's going on here?" Chiron's voice echoed as he cantered into the amphitheatre.

"Just a friendly debate," Russ told him.

Chiron didn't look convinced, "Well, this _debate_ is over. Everyone, back to your classes."

The amphitheatre began to clear out, and Chiron made his way over to me, "Chase, I'm glad to see you've made it."

"I barely made it," I said. "Dad and I had an encounter with the Mares of Thrace on the drive here."

Chiron grinned and shook his head, "Still, to this day, your father can't keep himself out of trouble. I'd heard the Mares had recently broken free from their tethers and were running wild. I take it you two dispatched them?"

"Dad did most of the dispatching, I just showed off my mad driving skills."

He raised his eyebrows, "Mad driving skills?"

"Oh, yeah, you should've seen it," I said excitedly. "It was like a demolition derby!"

He laughed, "I have no doubt."

"CJ!" I heard Noah's voice call out as he made his way over to me. "CJ, you made it."

I shook my friend's hand, "You didn't think I was going to miss the entire summer, did you?"

"I was beginning to wonder."

"Well," Chiron said. "I'll let you two catch up."

I waited until Chiron walked away, then I turned to Noah, "What in the name of the gods was that all about?"

"You mean Russ?"

"Yes, Russ. Is he running some sort of campaign against me?" I asked.

He nodded, "Pretty much."

I was fuming, "That no-good, arrogant, sorry son of a-"

"Yeah," Noah interrupted my rant. He draped his arm over my shoulder and led me out of the amphitheatre. "A lot's happened since you've been gone, CJ. Come on, let's go to the range so you can blow off some steam, and I'll explain everything."

When we made it to the spear range, I took off my dress shirt; I had a tank on under it. Mom would kill me for training in the nice clothes I had to wear to the awards ceremony this morning, but I guess she'd never have to know about it. Noah tossed me a spear, and we began sparing. I'm not great with a spear, not nearly as good as Noah and Lexie, but I can usually play pretty good defense.

"Russ just hates me because I'm mortal. And he doesn't like the fact that his fate may be in my hands." I said as I blocked a swing from Noah.

"That's true, but that's not all of it," he said as he took another swipe at my head. "He's trying to turn everyone against you and drive you out of camp."

That didn't surprise me. "Well, he can try, but it's not going to work."

"You say that, but you should take a step back and look around at what's really going on," he said when he spun out of the path of my jabs. "He's got a lot of campers on his side, and he's not going to give up. You'll have to go after him."

"So he can beat on me and embarrass me in front of everyone again? No, thank you."

He rolled his eyes, "Not physically. Smear his campaign against you. Prove him wrong."

I stepped toward Noah and jabbed again, "Maybe I should, but how? How can I prove him wrong when he hasn't lied?"

He blocked and took a step back, "What?"

"Has he said anything about me that wasn't true?" I asked.

"Um…"

"Other than confusing Manhattan and Brooklyn, he hasn't lied. Am I not a spoiled rich kid? Am I not a mortal living as a demigod? Am I not just like those kids in the Rebellion? Maybe Russ is right. Maybe it's all a big mistake. Maybe that's why no one here thinks I can successfully fulfill this prophecy."

"And maybe they're wrong, CJ," he countered.

I ducked a swing from him, "I don't think I'll get anywhere by telling a hundred and fifty campers they're wrong."

"Fight the fights you can win when it comes to the campers."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, come on."

"At least, fight the fights that need fighting. Step up and take charge. Don't just stand back and let Russ run you down."

So, now Noah was trying to handle me. I was becoming more and more irritated at the situation by the minute, "Is the view from the cheap-seats pretty good, Noah? You like being a spectator?"

His eyes widened, "I beg your pardon?"

"Because it occurs to me that I've never seen _you_ step-up and take charge. Now why is that, Noah? Why are you always one step behind me, lurking in my shadow?"

I think question the rubbed him the wrong way, because he swung the blunt-end of his spear around and popped me in the face. "Because if I wasn't, Lexie would be dead, and you'd be camped out with the Rebellion somewhere down in Georgia."

How dare he? I threw my spear to the ground at his feet, "Fuck you!"

I stormed out of the range. I was so angry. I wasn't angry at Noah, not really, and I felt bad about what I said to him. I'd always had a temper and a tendency to overreact. Dad said I got it from Mom, but I don't know; he can be pretty moody sometimes. Noah was my best friend, and I just let him have it. I took out my frustrations on him, and I shouldn't have, which only made me feel worse…but it wasn't over, yet.

As I walked toward the cabins, I met someone in the courtyard who I had no interest in talking to at that moment. I walked right past her without so much as a word or passing glance.

"CJ!" she called after me. "CJ, wait up."

"Leave me alone, Lexie. Now's not at good time." I didn't want to blow up on her like I had on Noah.

She grabbed my arm and stopped my quick pace. "Hey, listen," she said. "I'm sorry about-"

"Sorry about what, Lexie?" I interrupted. "Sorry about what your boyfriend said about me or sorry that you didn't stand up for me? I thought you were my friend."

"I am your friend."

"Well, you have a funny way of showing it."

"CJ, I…" she trailed off.

"Why? Why did you just stand back and let him say those things about me? Do you believe those things he said? Do you think I'm a fraud, too?"

She shook her head, "Of course, not. Russ is just…he's jealous, that's all. He's not a bad guy. You just have to know him."

"If he's like that, then I don't want to know him, and I can't believe you'd stick around with someone like that."

"Hey," she snapped. "That's none of your business. Stay out of my relationship."

"Fine, I'll stay out of your business. You just be sure to stay out of mine."

She put her hands on her hips, "So, that's how it's going to be? You're going to throw one of your little temper-tantrums like you did when you were eight? You're going to stomp your feet and have yourself a pity party, is that it?"

I looked straight into her eyes, "We may not be little kids anymore, but the girl I knew back then, the girl with pigtails who was fearless would've stuck up for me to anyone, just like I would for her."

"He's my boyfriend, CJ. What was I supposed to do? Call him out right there in front of everyone?"

She had a point. That would've really pissed him off, and I'm not sure what he would've done about it. I might've been upset with Lexie, but if Russ ever did anything to hurt her, I'd kill him; he'd receive no _compassion_ from me.

"I don't know, Lexie. You should've done something."

"You should do something. This is your fight, not mine. If you think Russ is wrong, you call him out on it. I believe in you, CJ, and I'm here for you, but I'm not going to do your dirty work for you. Grow a pair, and do it yourself."

"You sound like Noah."

"Noah's a smart guy. Maybe you should listen to him."

"Or maybe both of you should just leave me alone."

She held her hands up in surrender, "Be like that, then."

She walked away from me, and I wanted to call after her and apologize, but I didn't. I needed to cool off. I'd talk to her and Noah once I'd calmed down. I didn't realize it'd take me nearly two weeks to calm down.


	3. Chapter 3

3. A Diversion of Our Own Making

Since I was three weeks late to camp, and since I decided to hold a grudge for a while, it was July before I got around to apologizing to Noah and Lexie. Camp was having a huge celebration for Independence Day: a day-long barbecue and party on the beach and a fireworks show that night. The entire camp was in great spirits, and I'd begun to realize how childish I had acted, so I decided to swallow my pride and ask my friends for their forgiveness.

It was a perfect Fourth of July day: sunny and warm, and everyone was at the beach. The Hephaestus campers had built two enormous barbecue grills where campers from many cabins were pitching in to help grill ribs, steaks, and chicken, which, by the way, smelled delicious. All the Aphrodite kids were laying out on their beach blankets working on their tans, the Demeter kids were passing out glasses of lemonade, and most of the Ares kids were either playing football on the beach or trying to drown one another out in the sound. The Hermes kids were pilfering through beach bags that were left unattended, and I noticed Morgan was snoozing in her lounge chair that was shaded by a giant umbrella.

I looked around for Noah and Lexie. I saw Noah pitching horseshoes with a couple of Athena kids and Jade, and I noticed Lexie was boogie-boarding with her siblings. I decided not to interrupt her, but instead see if I could get in on the next game of horseshoes.

Jade knew what was going on. My cabin mate was like a big sister, always nosy and trying to give me advice, but with Jade, I wouldn't have it any other way. She was so goofy and such a riot that she never seemed overbearing, just full of good intentions. When I asked to play in the next game, she was more than happy to give up her spot for me. That put me playing against Noah and Aaron, a son of Athena. I was teamed with Penny, a daughter of Athena. The thing about horseshoes, though, teammates stand on opposite ends from one another. So, that put me and Noah throwing from one stake, and Aaron and Penny throwing from the other.

Noah picked up the four shoes out of the sand and handed me the two blue shoes. "Have you ever pitched horseshoes before?" he asked me.

I nodded, "A few times." Mom and I used to pitch horseshoes at our beach house at Montauk every summer.

"Are you any good?"

I shrugged, "Decent."

"You want to lay down a bet?" he asked.

I smiled, "You've been spending too much time with the Hermes kids."

"That's what happens when my best friend wigs out on me."

Awkward.

I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, "Yeah, listen, about that…I'm really sorry, Noah. I was angry…not at you, just angry, and I took it out on you when I shouldn't have. There's no excuse for the way I acted, the way I've been acting. I'm not mad at you, and I don't want you to be mad at me. I'm just really sorry."

He smiled and put his hand on my shoulder, "That's all you ever had to say. I get that you were angry and frustrated. We all get that way sometimes. So, apology accepted."

"So, we're okay?"

He nodded, "We're okay. Just don't blow up when I kick your butt at horseshoes."

I laughed, "You might be asking for my forgiveness after this game."

"Ten bucks says otherwise."

I shook my best friend's hand, "It's a bet."

As we played the game, Noah asked, "Have you talked to Lexie?"

I shook my head, "No, not yet. She probably hates me."

"Nah, she doesn't hate you. She's had a few colorful words to say about you, but she doesn't hate you." Colorful words, that doesn't surprise me.

"How'd you and Lexie become such good friends, anyway?" I asked him. I'd always been curious about that.

"I was the first camper she met when she came here," he said. "And she never treated me like something she stepped in like everyone else did. We've been friends ever since."

"She's pretty great, huh?"

Noah raised his eyebrows, and I realized how that must've sounded. I backpedaled, "I meant she's a pretty great friend to have."

Noah grinned, "Sure you did."

I needed to change the subject, so I turned the tables on him, "Have you talked to Morgan at all?"

He cut his eyes over at the still sleeping Oracle, "Umm…not really."

_Clink_

"Ringer!" Penny yelled in excitement as she scored our winning points.

I held out my hand to Noah, "Cough it up, ten bucks."

He rolled his eyes and dug some cash out of the back pocket of his board shorts, "Here."

"So, about Morgan," I continued as I relieved him of his cash. "Just go talk to her. She won't bite…I don't think."

"What's the point, CJ? She's the Oracle. She can't exactly have a relationship."

"I know that, but I didn't say anything about a relationship. I'm just saying go talk to her. You two could be friends, and if it turns into something more on down the road when she vacates the position, then good for both of you."

"What makes you think she'll eventually give up the spirit?" he asked.

"Everybody moves on, Noah. Aunt Rachel said there just comes a time when you outgrow camp."

"Rachel…she's the Oracle who told your prophecy, right?"

I nodded, "And she and I had a come-to-Zeus meeting about it when I got back from camp last year."

"Did you ever figure out why no one told you about it?" he asked.

"Mom said it wasn't time for me to know. And speaking of the prophecy, has there been any news on the state of the Rebellion? I've heard rumors…"

"The rumors about the three campers that are MIA this summer?"

"Is it true they were killed by the Rebellion?" I asked.

"We can't be sure, but it seems that's most likely the case."

I shook my head, "This is so messed up. These aren't evil, soulless monsters we're facing, these are people."

"Dangerous people who are committing murder," Noah added. "And CJ…we may have to murder them to stop this."

Those words sent a cold chill up my spine. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that," I said.

Noah shook his head, "I don't see any other way, do you?"

"I'm working on it."

"Well, while you're working on it, I'm going to go eat some ribs."

"And I guess I'll go talk to Lexie."

He patted my shoulder and said, "Good luck, dude." I had a feeling I was going to need it.

I walked down to the shore to look for Lexie. I asked one of her brothers if he'd seen her, and he pointed out into the sound. She was about a hundred and fifty yards out, floating around on her boogie board. She was just chillin', but she was further out than I would've liked. She was a good swimmer, but the mystical barriers only went out so far into the sound. If she got beyond that, she'd be fish bait for any sea monster that came along.

I shed my tank and sunglasses, then hit the water. I loved to swim. I've always loved the water. I guess that went along with being the grandson of the sea god, though I didn't have any of the advantages that went along with being a descendent of Poseidon (no powers and all), but I happened to be a pretty good swimmer.

As I swam up to her, I noticed she looked like she was asleep lying across her board on her back. If she hadn't been lightly splashing water on herself to cool off, I would've guessed she'd dozed off.

When I reached her, I gave her a nice splash across her bare stomach. She turned her head toward me and lowered her sunglasses. "You," she grumbled with annoyance.

"Yes, me."

She rested her head back on her board and groaned, "What do you want?"

"I want to talk," I said as I treaded water. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure, whatever, talk."

"I'm sorry…about what I said to you and how I acted."

"Go on," she said. Ugh, she was going to make me work for it.

"You were right," I admitted. "I threw a fit like a child."

"And…" Grr, that girl drove me nuts sometimes.

"I expected you to fight my battles for me, which was wrong, and I'm sorry," I said.

She turned to me and smiled. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"No, I guess not," I laughed. "Hey, Lexie, let's swim in a little. We're getting too far out."

"Are you worried the big bad sea monster will get me?" she teased.

"Maybe."

She laughed, "You're going soft, CJ."

Looking at her in that skimpy bikini with her skin shimmering like gold, _soft_ was definitely not the description I'd use, but anyway… "Come on, I'll race you to shore," I said. She never could resist a challenge.

She grinned and rolled off her board. "On the count of three," she said. "One, two, aagghhh!"

She suddenly disappeared under the surface of the water. A stream of bubbles broke the surface, and I knew this wasn't a joke; something had her.

"Lexie!" I yelled then dove after her.

I swam as hard and as fast as I could. I followed the trail of bubbles deeper and deeper. I pulled my pen out of the pocket of my board shorts and clicked the button. It grew into my celestial bronze sword, and it gave off enough of a glow to help me see in the depths. Finally, I caught up to Lexie and monster that had her in its grip.

The monster looked like a delicacy, a snow crab of enormous proportion, and the first thought that entered my mind was how tasty its legs would be dipped in butter. It had its huge pincher clamped down on and cutting into Lexie's leg, and as she fought to get away, her blood stained the sea red. I had to do something fast before she lost her leg or worse…drowned.

Okay, so, giant crab; I knew this story. Dad killed one once, I think…I'm pretty sure. _Think, dammit!_ Chink in the armor on its belly, that was it. I maneuvered my way around the crab, trying to avoid its thrashing legs, which I wasn't really successful in doing. The crab knocked me around like a punching bag. It's a good thing I had the curse of Achilles or I would've been sliced into chum. I took a hard swing at the pincher that was clamped down on Lexie, and my sword cut deep into it, almost severing the limb completely. Lexie broke free from the monster and began her mad rush to the surface for air. I continued to take a beating from the monster, but after a few good kicks of my feet, I was able to swim up underneath it, where I buried my sword into its soft spot. The crab shuddered and seized as its insides dissolved away into the sea. All that was left of the monster was an empty shell that sank into the depths.

I swam for the surface, and when I broke, I tried to take a breath. Yeah, that didn't work. My lungs were full of water. I'd been taking sea water into my lungs and didn't even realize it. I coughed and puked and coughed up salt water until my lungs were finally clear.

Lexie was resting on her boogie board and she paddled over to me. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," I coughed.

"Are you sure? I've never seen you cough and puke like that."

"I've never breathed water before either."

"Is that a curse thing?" she asked.

"Well, it's not a Poseidon thing, that's for sure. I wouldn't be hacking like this if it was."

She had a goofy grin on her face, "CJ, you can breathe under water."

"No, I just can't drown."

She rolled her eyes, "Same thing."

"What about you? Are you okay? How's your leg?"

"It's cut pretty deep," she said.

"Let me take a look at it."

She slid up on her board and her bleeding leg floated up to the surface. She had two four inch gashes, one on each side of her calf. They were deep, too, clear into the muscle.

"Yikes, does that hurt?" I asked.

"Yes, it hurts. Oww, owww, don't touch it," she winced as I pulled a piece of debris from the wound. The only times I've ever felt pain was when I got hit in the gut, which I tried to avoid, so I couldn't really understand what she was feeling.

"We should get you to the infirmary."

She nodded, "Yeah, a little nectar should fix me right up."

As I helped her swim to shore, she turned to me and asked, "CJ, could we not tell anyone about this?"

She had her reputation as being a tenacious, die-hard, monster slayer to uphold, and I needed to be back on her good-side, so I agreed, "It'll be our little secret."

After I helped Lexie to the infirmary and she healed her leg with nectar and an incantation she learned from her father, we made our way back to the beach. Lexie went to see Russ, because she was sure he'd be wondering where she went, and I plopped down on Morgan's empty lounge chair. It was comfortable; I could see how she'd been sleeping on it. I kicked back and closed my eyes.

Only a couple of minutes had passed when I heard Morgan's voice, "You're in my chair."

I opened my eyes to see the lithe Oracle hovering over me with a hand on her hip. "I was just resting for a minute, Morgan," I told her.

She raised an eyebrow and gave me a crooked grin, "She wore ya out, did she?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You and Lexie were gone for an awful long time." Oh, gods. "I saw you two sneakin' away." _Oh, my gods._

"It-it's not what you're thinking," I insisted. "She just…she cut her foot on a piece of glass. I helped her to the infirmary."

Morgan wiggled her eyebrows and asked, "Is that _all_ ya helped her with?"

"Really? Get your mind out of the gutter."

"I will when you get your ass outta my chair."

I reluctantly peeled myself off her chair. "Happy, now?" I asked.

"Very," she smiled as she kicked back in her chair and sipped her lemonade. "Now, run along."

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, my Lady."

After some barbeque, I sat down on a beach blanket with Noah, Lexie, Jade, Morgan, and a few other campers. Thankfully, Russ wasn't there; he was helping with the fireworks. It was dusk, and everyone was sitting on the beach waiting for the much anticipated fireworks show, and let me say, it wasn't a disappointment. It was spectacular…so colorful and loud. The shells boomed in the sky like cannons, and the pyrotechnics sparked in a wide assortment of designs ranging from the typical bursting spider effect to a complete recreation of the voyage of the Argo II that danced across the night's sky like a 3D movie. The show lasted for nearly two hours, and by the time it was over, my ears were ringing. That might've been why it took so long to notice a few wood nymphs running around, screaming in panic.

I ran over to one of the nymphs and tried to calm her. "What is it?" I asked her. "What's wrong?"

"It-it-it-" she gasped as she cried. "He-he-"

"Slow down," I said. "Just tell me what happened."

She took a couple deep breaths, "It's gone. It's gone."

"What's going on, CJ?" Lexie asked as she came running up to us. She turned to the crying nymph, "What's wrong, Ashley?"

The nymph had green tears rolling down her cheeks. "They killed him," she cried. "During the fireworks show, they took it, and they killed him."

"Who?" I asked with worry. "Who's dead? What was taken?"

"Peleus," she cried. "They killed Peleus and took the Golden Fleece."


	4. Chapter 4

4. We Weep For a Dragon

We ran. Lexie and I ran as fast as we could across camp, the moonlight illuminating the way. When we reached the hill, there was nothing. All that remained of the loyal dragon that guarded the Fleece and camp was a heap of dust that was being carried away by the warm breeze. Lexie gasped and buried her face into my shoulder. I felt her tears against my skin, and my heart broke for her. She had a special bond with Peleus. Whenever she got homesick, she would go sit under the towering pine that was considered her mother's tree. She said she felt close to her mother there. During the time she spent up on the hill, she'd grown fond of the guardian dragon and practically considered him her pet. There was an emotional connection between the two; a connection I can only compare to a man's love for his dog. I know I would be devastated if anything ever happened to my terrier, Iolaus.

"Alexandria," Chiron said; I hadn't even noticed him walk up to us.

Lexie blinked the tears out of her eyes and looked up at the centaur who was holding a torch for light. "He was a good dragon," she whispered.

Chiron nodded, "Yes, he was."

I looked around and noticed we had an audience. Nearly the entire camp had come up to the hill. I saw a figure pushing its way through the crowd; it was Russ.

He made his way to Lexie and took her cheeks in his hands. "Lex, I'm so sorry," he said to her.

He seemed genuinely remorseful and was considerate of Lexie's grief. I'd never seen him like that before. He showed, dare I say it, compassion…but that still didn't change my mind about him. I still didn't like him.

He wrapped his arm around her and led her away from the hill. I wanted to follow them to make sure she was going to be alright, but I knew it wasn't my place.

Chiron turned to the rest of the campers, "There's nothing that can be done tonight. We'll investigate this tragedy tomorrow morning at first light. Until then, everyone to your cabins, and get some sleep."

The campers began filing toward the cabins, but I didn't move. Chiron turned to me and said, "She'll be okay." He knew I was worried about Lexie.

I shook my head, "How could I let this happen?"

"You couldn't have known something like this would happen; none of us could," he said, and that's what bothered me. Why hadn't the Fates given me a warning, a vision or a dream, some kind of sign that this was going to happen?

"Do you think it was the Rebellion?" I asked him.

"The nymphs that witnessed the attack said they were teenagers. At first they thought they were campers, but when shots were fired, they realized it was a surprise attack. Apparently, there were nearly fifty of them. The Rebellion would be the prime suspect."

"How were they able to kill him? Mortal weapons are useless against monsters."

Chiron held out his hand. There were small nuggets of celestial bronze in his palm. I looked closer and realized they were spent bullets mushroomed from impact with their target.

"Celestial bronze ammunition," I said. "Chiron, do you know what this means? They weren't coming for us; they came specifically to kill Peleus and take the Fleece. They knew when and how to attack. The fireworks show was a perfect diversion."

I was surprised to see Chiron's sullen expression change into a slight grin. "You may look like your father, but you're becoming more and more like your mother." I wasn't exactly sure how to take that, but I think he meant it as a compliment. "She was such a smart camper," he smiled. "So perceptive."

"You and Mom were pretty close, huh?"

"Oh, yes. She came to camp when she was just a child and stayed here year-round for a long time. I grew very fond of her. If I ever had a daughter, I'd want her to be like your mother."

Chiron's trained thousands of heroes over a few millennia, and for him to single out Mom like that, it made me proud to be her son.

"Get some rest, Chase," he told me. "We'll discuss the Rebellion further tomorrow."

I nodded to the centaur then walked toward my cabin. When I finally settled into my bunk, I couldn't sleep. I stared at the wall thinking about the Rebellion, Peleus, and Lexie. I don't know when I finally dozed off, but when I did, I dreamed of Lexie.

We were sitting on the swings at school when we were only eight years old; the dream was a memory.

"I have trouble reading," she told me. "The letters get all mixed up on the paper."

"Why?" I asked.

"I got something called dys-dyslexia. When I read and write, the letters move around and mix up, and I don't understand what they mean."

I shrugged, "Maybe you could write with at permanent marker, then the letters couldn't move around on the paper."

"I tried that. It don't work," she sighed.

"I wish there was some way I could help you read better."

"Me, too, CJ. Me, too."

The image faded into another familiar scene. It was, again, Lexie and me when we were eight, but this time we were standing near a cab outside the apartment building we used to live in.

She was wearing her strong-face, but she also looked like she could burst into tears at any second. "I'll miss you, CJ," she said.

"Do you really have to go?" I asked her. I didn't want her to go. I would've done anything to keep her from going.

She looked over her shoulder at her mother who was loading their suitcases into the trunk of the cab, "I don't wanna go, but Momma says we have to."

"Oh," I said. I didn't know what else to say; there was nothing else _to_ say. She was leaving me…and I was helpless to stop it.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tight, and I hugged her back. "Don't forget me, Lexie," I said.

"I won't, and we'll see each other again, someday."

"You think so?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I think so."

"Come on, Lexie," her mother said. "It's time to go."

I looked my friend in her baby-blue eyes, "I'll miss you."

She gave me a broken-hearted smile, "Bye, CJ."

"Bye, Lexie." I said, then watched my best friend climb into a cab and disappear from my life.

I opened my eyes to see the sun shining through the window, and I caught a glimpse of Jade standing in front of the mirror running a brush through her long, red hair. I sat up in my bunk and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

"Morning, CJ," Jade said when I stirred. She left out the _good_ in good morning for obvious reasons.

"Morning," I returned. "Did you sleep alright?"

She shook her head, "Not really."

I stood and stretched, "Yeah, me either."

I looked toward the corner of cabin three at the little fountain that Jade used like Skype, and it occurred to me that I should Iris message my parents. As much as I didn't want to, I had to tell them about Peleus. They were both very fond of the dragon, and I thought they should hear the bad news from me. Jade left me alone in our cabin and told me to take my time. I took a deep breath to compose myself; who knew the death of a dragon would hit everyone so hard, even me, and I barely knew him. I tossed a drachma into the fountain and asked the goddess Iris to connect me to the Percy Jackson residence. I learned a long time ago not to ask for Mom or Dad directly unless it was a real emergency. I once IM'd Mom and caught her in the shower. Talk about awkward.

It was Sunday, so I expected them to be home, and they were. An image of them sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee and reading the Sunday paper like a pair of old empty-nesters appeared in the mist of the fountain.

"Mom, Dad," I said to get their attention.

"Chase," Dad smiled when he saw my image. "It's good to see you, son."

"It's good to see you guys, too. I miss you."

"What's wrong, CJ?" Mom asked. She could already tell I wasn't myself.

"Something's happened," I said. "Something bad."

"Are you okay?" Mom asked with worry.

"It's not me; I'm fine, Mom."

"What's happened, Chase?" Dad asked.

"Remember me telling you about the Rebellion, the militia that's out to kill demigods?"

Mom nodded, "We remember."

"They stormed Half-Blood Hill last night. They stole the Golden Fleece."

Dad furrowed his brow. "Where was Peleus?" he asked. "On vacation?"

"We were all at the beach watching the fireworks show. We didn't know it was happening. There were a lot of them, and he couldn't fight them off."

"What are saying, CJ?" Mom asked.

I took a breath, "Peleus was slain by the Rebellion last night."

Mom covered her face with her hands. Dad sat his coffee cup down and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm really sorry. I should've known something like this would happen. I should've expected it and prepared for it. I let my guard down, and Peleus paid the price. It's all my fault."

Mom raised her head from Dad's shoulder, and she looked right into my eyes. "This is not your fault," she insisted. "You can't blame yourself."

"I just feel like the Rebellion is my problem, and I should've done something to stop this."

"The Rebellion isn't just your enemy," Dad said. "They're everyone's enemy. Just because you're the child of prophecy doesn't mean you have to carry it all on your shoulders alone."

"Your father's right," Mom said. "It takes a team to defeat an enemy like the Rebellion. Peleus was part of the team, and he gave his life fighting to protect you kids. He may have lost his battle, but CJ, you can honor him by winning the war."

"This is only the beginning, isn't it?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"I'm afraid so," Mom nodded. "And I hate to tell you this, but you'll likely face even more loss of life before this is all over."

"What do I do? Tell me what to do." I desperately wanted their help.

"Chase, we can't tell you what you should do," Dad said. "You'll have to figure that out on your own, but a word of advice: take it one step, one challenge at a time."

I nodded, "Find out where they took the Fleece and get it back."

"That would be a good place to start," Mom said. "And remember, we love you, and we have faith in you."

"I love you guys, too. I'd better go. I've got a lot of work to do."

"That you do," Mom nodded. "Good luck, CJ."

"Thanks." I waved my hand through the message to disconnect us.

Some of the campers had conducted an investigation to determine what exactly happened up on that hill last night, and they came up with the same conclusion I had: the Rebellion used the fireworks show as a diversion to shoot down Peleus using celestial bronze bullets in their firearms, then stole the Fleece. But the reason they would want the Fleece was surrounded with speculation. I wasn't exactly sure why they would want it, but I assumed it was for its healing powers. Mortals can't drink nectar or eat ambrosia to heal injuries, and legacies have to be extremely careful with it; some legacies can't handle it and have severe reactions to it. The Fleece would be the perfect alternative to the food of the gods. If they planned to engage demigods, they could expect to have casualties, and this may have been their way to ensure their losses were minimal. Other campers had other theories, anything from taking it for ransom to an attempt to weaken camp's defensive borders. I wasn't too concerned with why they took it; my biggest question was where'd they take it and how were we going to get it back. I needed to come up with a plan, a strategy, but planning would have to take a back seat at that moment, because we had a shroud to burn.

Holding a memorial and burning a shroud for a monster definitely wasn't a common occurrence, but for Peleus, we made an exception. That afternoon, every single camper, nymph, satyr, and even Mr. D gathered in the amphitheatre. A copper-colored shroud that was pieced together to mimic the look of scales lay across the funeral pyre. The silk shroud was the same color the dragon was, and in the center of the shroud, a pine tree with the Golden Fleece hanging from a low branch was embroidered into the silk.

The theatre was quiet as Lexie walked over to the pyre and stared at the shroud for a moment. She turned to the crowd to say a few words about Peleus. "He was…he was a brave and loyal dragon. He never complained, and he never took a break, he just did his duty, and today we honor his many years of faithful service."

She took a torch and touched it to the shroud. A tear rolled down her cheek as she said, "Until you return, I'll miss you, my friend."

We all watched as the shroud burned and mourned the loss of our guardian dragon.

…

Two weeks had passed before we realized the theft of the Fleece had dire consequences. The Fleece had hung in that pine tree for nearly thirty years, and it was there for a reason. Most recovered items were just stashed away in the Big House attic, but the Fleece had a job to do. When Thalia's pine was poisoned way back when my parents were campers, the poison began to kill the tree, and consequently, the mystical barriers around the camp began to fail. My parents told me the story of their quest in the Sea of Monsters and the recovery of the Fleece, and how its extraordinary healing powers counteracted the poison, bringing the tree back to health, as well as bringing Lexie's mom back to life. Since Thalia's spirit was no longer reinforcing the mystical barriers around camp, the Fleece was used as a substitute, and it worked out great. But what no one realized until now was that the Fleece didn't completely purge the poison, it merely counteracted it. Now that the Fleece was gone and no longer counteracting the poison, the effects were the same as they were all those years ago. The tree was beginning to yellow, and the barriers around camp were weakening…the effect I'm sure the Rebellion was counting on. We had to get the Fleece back and soon. If the barrier around camp completely failed, anything or anyone could get in, including monsters and the mortal members of the Rebellion. A security breach like that could be devastating. I had to do something. I needed a quest.


	5. Chapter 5

5. A Legend Returns to Camp

"Why are you being so difficult?" I asked. "Is it deliberate?"

Morgan put her hands on her hips, "Ya think I'm doin' this on purpose?"

"Just give me a damn quest!" I yelled.

"I told ya, CJ, it don't work that way. This ain't an ask-and-you-shall-receive thing."

"Since when?"

She shook her head, "Ugh, you're hopeless."

"What do I have to do to get a quest?" I asked her.

"There's nothin' ya can do. You're askin' the right question; that's not the problem."

"What's the problem, then?"

"The right person ain't askin'."

"You're saying the quest to recover of the Fleece isn't meant for me?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes, "Congratulations, you grew a brain."

"Who's it meant for?"

"Don't ya think if I knew, we wouldn't be havin' this conversation?"

"You're the Oracle; you're supposed to know these things."

She narrowed her eyes at me, "You're pissin' me off, CJ."

"I always piss you off. What's your problem with me, anyway? You never have liked me."

"You've never liked me either, so we're even."

Grr, what a bitch. What could Noah possibly see in her?

I stormed out of her cave and headed straight for the Big House. Maybe Chiron would have some insight on what should be done since Morgan was less than helpful or cooperative.

I had just stepped onto the Big House porch when there was a bright flash of light in front of me. I turned my head from the blinding light, and when it faded, I looked up to see a middle-aged man standing there holding a woman in his arms. It took a second for me to realize it was Apollo; his appearance was usually that of a younger man, but not today. He never said a word as he carried the unconscious woman into the Big House, but as he walked by I got a good look at her. My heart pounded in my chest when I recognized who she was. It was Lexie's mom, Thalia Grace.

As the god walked down the hallway, I followed, but not too close. "Chiron," Apollo said as he walked past the centaur's office. "I need you in the infirmary."

Chiron wheeled out of his office and into the hallway. He noticed Apollo walking toward the infirmary, then turned to me, "What's going on?"

I shook my head, "I don't know."

Chiron and I made our way to the infirmary where we found Apollo standing over Thalia, who was lying on a cot. He was running his fingers through her hair with one hand and gripping her lifeless hand with the other. She was so pale and her breathing was so shallow that I knew she was really sick.

As Chiron wheeled over to them, I noticed he'd turned almost as pale as her. "What's happened?" he asked the god.

"I'm losing her, Chiron," Apollo's voice cracked. "I'm an all-powerful god, the god of healing for Zeus sakes, but I've tried everything, and I can't heal her."

"When did she become ill?" Chiron asked as he looked over Thalia, carefully.

"I'm not really sure. She and I…well, we're not exactly together these days. I was surprised to hear from her. She prayed to me a few days ago; she never does that anymore, so I knew it must've been serious. I dropped everything and went straight to her. When I first examined her, I suspected poison. That's what her symptoms indicate, but there's none in her system. There's nothing. I can find no cause for her to be so sick. It's like her life-aura is fading for no reason. I've tried every healing technique there is, but her condition continues to worsen. At this rate, she'll be gone in a matter of days."

"Does Lexie know?" I asked, and they both turned to me. I think they'd forgotten I was in the room.

Apollo shook his head, "No, she doesn't."

"Chase, why don't you find Alexandria, and bring her here," Chiron said.

I nodded and turned to leave, but Chiron called after me, "And try to keep this quiet. This is a family matter not to be announced to the entire camp."

I nodded, "I understand. I'll be discrete."

I went to the archery range where I figured she'd be, and sure enough she was. I tried to compose myself. I had no idea how I was going to tell her that her mother was sick.

She was setting up targets for her class when I walked up to her. "Hey, CJ," she said when she saw me. "You here to help with the targets?"

"Um, no actually, I need to talk to you about something."

"Can't it wait? I'm kinda busy right now."

I shook my head, "No, it can't wait."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Walk with me?" I needed to get her away from the other campers before I told her, because I didn't know what her reaction would be.

We walked out of the range, and I led her toward the Big House. "You're worrying me, CJ. What's going on?"

"Your parents are here," I told her.

She raised her eyebrows, "Together? Yikes. They don't do so well together, anymore."

"Well, there's…extenuating circumstances."

"What sort of circumstances?" she asked.

I hesitated. I didn't know how to tell her. She grabbed my arm and stopped my stride. "Tell me what's going on," she insisted. "And don't lie to me, because I'll know it."

"Lexie, your mom's sick."

"Sick? How bad?"

"Bad."

She took off running toward the Big House, and I did my best to keep up with her, but dang, she was fast. I caught up with her at the doorway of the infirmary where she was standing as still as a statue.

She finally walked into the room and said, "Dad."

Apollo motioned her to come over to him, "Come here, sweetheart."

She slowly walked over to the cot where her mother lay, and Apollo wrapped his arm around his daughter. "What's wrong with her?" Lexie asked.

"She's dying, baby."

Lexie shook her head fiercely, and her voice cracked with emotion, "No, no, no, she can't. You've got to heal her, Dad. Please." The look in her eyes was one I'd never seen from her before; it was fear. Lexie wasn't scared of anything. Fearlessness was her fatal flaw, but I could tell she was terrified that she might lose her mother.

"I've tried to heal her, but this is beyond what even I'm capable of."

"How is that possible? You're a god, the god of healing."

Chiron wheeled closer to Lexie, "Alexandria, do you remember the story of how the pine tree up on the hill came to be known as your mother's tree?"

Lexie nodded, "Grandpa transformed her into the tree to save her life."

"That's right," Chiron nodded. "And when the tree was poisoned and the Golden Fleece was used to counteract the poison…"

"Mom regained her human form. The Fleece's healing powers were that strong."

"Now that the Fleece is gone and is no longer counteracting the poison, the tree is beginning to die, and so is your mother. She's being poisoned by proxy."

Lexie shook her head, "What does that even mean?"

"Your mother will forever be connected to that tree; it's a part of her life-force," Chiron explained. "That's why you feel so close to her when you spend all that time sitting under it. Whatever happens to that tree, happens to her. The only way to save your mother is to recover the Fleece."

"Lexie," I said. "Morgan told me that the quest to find the Fleece wasn't meant for me. I think it's meant for you."

She turned to her father and asked, "Is that true?"

Apollo took her cheeks in his hands. "Yes," he nodded. "It's up to you to find the Fleece and save your mother."

She was trying to be strong and brave, but a tear escaped her eye as she asked, "What if I fail?"

"Failure's not an option," Apollo said. "We can't lose her, baby. We can't."

I felt like an intruder watching Lexie and her father cry for Thalia. I never really understood their family dynamic until now. They were…normal. Apollo's and Thalia's relationship may have been on and off for…forever, but there was no doubt in my mind that the god loved her and loved his daughter, and Lexie loved her parents the same way I loved mine.

Lexie sat down in a chair beside her mother while Chiron and Apollo left the room to discuss some things. I didn't know if I should stay there with her or give her some privacy. I didn't know what to say or how to comfort her. I felt as helpless as I did all those years ago when we said goodbye to one another, and I couldn't imagine what she was going through. I don't know what I'd do if my mom was sick and dying like that.

"What can I do, Lexie?" I asked. "Tell me what I can do."

She turned to me and wiped a tear from her eye, "Get Russ."

"Okay," I agreed, though I didn't really want to. "I'll get Russ."

I left the Big House and asked around camp to see if anyone knew where Russ was. The consensus was that he was likely in the arena, so that's where I headed. I walked into the arena to find Russ and Jason hammering at one another in a heated swordfight. Jason was a badass swordsman for his age, and he was handing Russ a beating, which was pretty entertaining to watch.

Jason caught a glimpse of me and halted their duel. "CJ," he panted. "You're late."

Crap, I forgot I had training with Jason this afternoon. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that," I said. "Something came up."

"It better have been important," Jason said. If it wasn't, I knew I'd have to run laps for being late.

"Yes, sir, it was," I said then turned to Russ, "Russ, you're needed at the Big House."

He grumbled, "What now?"

"Lexie needs you."

"What's she done this time?" Russ asked like he'd bailed her out of trouble plenty of times before.

"She hasn't done anything," I said in a sterner tone. I needed him to listen to me, instead of complaining. "She's just having a hard time right now, and she asked me to come get you."

"Fine," he said. "I'll go to the Big House."

As Russ left the arena, Jason turned to me and asked, "What's going on with my niece?"

"You'd better go to the Big House, too," I said. "It's about your sister. She's here."

"What's Thalia doing here?"

"Apollo brought her here," I said. "And she's really sick, Jason."

He stood silent and still for a moment before walking past me. "Come on, son," he said.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To the Big House."

I shook my head, "I don't know if I should. This is a family thing. I don't want to interfere."

"You won't be interfering," he assured me. "You're Lexie's friend, and she might need you." And with that, I followed my trainer to the Big House, explaining to him what was happening as we walked.

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Jason walked over to Lexie who was still sitting by her mother's side with Russ standing over her rubbing her back for comfort.

Jason ran his hand over his niece's hair. "How's she doing, Lexie?" he asked.

She stood from her seat and wrapped her arms around her uncle's neck. "Not good," she told him.

"Where's your dad?"

"He left," she said. "He's trying to find a way to slow her deterioration. He's trying to buy me some time to find the Fleece."

"Honey, I know you don't want to leave your mom, but you should go to Morgan and get a quest, because you are running out of time."

She looked at her mother then back at her uncle, "I can't leave her here all alone."

"She won't be alone," he assured her. "I'll stay here with her. I won't leave her side until you get back with the Fleece."

Lexie looked surprised, "You would do that?"

"Yes," Jason nodded. "Your mother and I might not get along, but that doesn't mean I don't love her and owe her one." I wasn't sure what Jason meant by that, but I got the feeling there was an unpleasant history between the siblings.

She hugged her uncle again. "Thanks, Uncle Jason."

Lexie left the Big House with Russ right on her heels, and I stayed there in the infirmary with Jason and Chiron while she went to get a quest from the Oracle. I stood near the back of the room as Jason sat down beside his ailing sister and took her hand in his.

"How bad is it, Chiron? How much time does she have?" Jason asked.

Chiron wheeled over to the siblings and looked closely at Thalia. "I can't know for sure. Her life-aura is fading, but I'm unable to monitor how quickly. That's beyond my ability."

Jason shook his head, "I wish we had some way of knowing."

Wait a second. "What about Uncle Nico?" I blurted out.

They both turned to me with slightly confused looks, so I clarified, "He can read life-auras, right? He could monitor her condition and give Lexie an idea of how much time she has to find the Fleece."

Jason turned to Chiron, "That's not a bad idea."

Chiron nodded, "I'll go contact Nico right now."

Chiron left the infirmary, and I was about to walk out to give Jason some privacy, but I stopped when he said, "You know my sister, right?"

"Yes, but it's been years since I've seen her. I was just a little kid when she and Lexie lived in Manhattan."

"She thought she'd be a terrible mother," he said. "She was terrified at the thought of having a child. And honestly, the thought of her being a mom terrified me, too, but she surprised me. Lexie's her pride and joy. There's nothing she wouldn't do for that girl."

"You said you and Thalia don't get along. Why is that?" Well, that came out sounding nosy.

"She and I are like night and day," he said. "We rarely see eye to eye on anything, and we fight like cats and dogs, but a long time ago, she made a huge sacrifice to save my life, and for that, I'll always love her and owe her."

I didn't know what happened back then, what sacrifice she made or how she saved his life, and I wasn't going to ask. It was really none of my business.

"Chase, can you do me a favor?" he asked.

I nodded, "Sure."

"Will you go tell my wife I need her here?"

"Of course," I said, then left the Big House to find Calypso.


	6. Chapter 6

6. I Go On A Quest With My Archenemy

After finding Calypso, I took the long way back to the Big House. I hoped to see Lexie leaving Morgan's cave and maybe catch her alone so I could find out how she was really doing, but I never saw her.

I was almost back to the Big House when I heard Noah calling my name, "CJ! CJ, wait up."

I turned to my friend and said, "Hey, Noah. What's up?"

"I just finished my shift on patrol."

"Any excitement?" I asked. When I was on patrol the other day, my squad was dive-bombed by a flock of killer pigeons. It took me _forever_ to wash all the bird poop out of my hair.

"Nah, it's been fairly quiet today," he said. Noah had been doing a really good job coordinating units and shifts to patrol camp's borders now that they were vulnerable. He'd been a year-rounder for five years now, so he knew camp like the back of his hand, and he was able to send out patrol units to parts of camp that I never even knew existed. And the interesting part about it, the campers listened to him. Normally, they treated him like an outsider, but now they needed him, needed his expertise, so they followed his orders without question.

"Well, that's good news," I said.

"What about you?" he asked. "I haven't seen you all day."

I stepped onto the Big House porch and leaned against the rail. "I've been here all day," I said.

"Are you in trouble? You didn't moon the naiads again, did you?"

"I'm telling you, that wasn't me," I insisted. "If I wanted to freak them out, I would've just skinny dipped in the lake."

"Now, that would've been funny," he laughed.

"That sounds like something your dad would've done," said a voice to the left, and I turned to see my uncle Nico step out of the shadows.

"Uncle Nico, you made it."

"Yep," he smiled then ruffled my hair. What is it about my hair that demands to be ruffled? "It's good to see you, kiddo."

"You, too," I said then turned to Noah, "Noah, this is Nico di Angelo, son of Hades."

Noah shook his hand and introduced himself, "Noah Hawkins, son of Prometheus. Nice to meet you, sir."

Nico gave Noah a funny look and made the handshake awkwardly long. "Do I know you, Noah? Have we met before, maybe?" Nico asked.

Noah shook his head, "No, sir, I don't believe we've met before."

"Huh, weird," Nico shrugged then turned to me, "So, is she in the infirmary?" he asked about Thalia.

"Yeah. Jason's in there with her," I told him.

"Well, I'd better get in there and see what I can do."

When Uncle Nico walked into the Big House, Noah asked, "What's going on, CJ? Who's in the infirmary?"

I was supposed to keep this quiet, but I knew I could trust Noah; he wouldn't tell anyone, and I figured since Lexie was getting a quest, the whole camp was going to know what was happening soon enough. "It's Lexie's mom. She's really sick."

Noah furrowed his brow and asked, "Why doesn't Apollo just heal her? Their relationship isn't so rocky that he'd let her stay sick, is it?"

"He's tried to heal her, but he can't." I explained to Noah about how Thalia's life-force was connected to her tree, and how since it was dying, so was she, and how the Fleece was the only thing that could save her.

"Lexie must be freaking out," he said then looked past me. "Speaking of…"

I turned around to see Lexie, Russ, and Morgan approaching the porch. When they reached us, Noah hugged Lexie. "I'm sorry about your mom," he said. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Thanks, Noah," she said. "And actually, there is something I need you to do."

"Name it."

"Keep doing what you're doing. Keep up the patrols, and keep camp safe. With me and Russ gone, that'll put you in charge."

I was a little hurt that she trusted Noah to be in charge and not me, but then again, Noah knew camp better than I did.

"Did you get a quest?" I asked her.

She nodded, "Russ and I will be going to Florida to find the Fleece. And CJ, I want you to come, too."

I was a little shocked…and concerned. Russ and I on a quest together was just asking for trouble. And Russ was none too happy about the development. "What?" he gaped at Lexie. "What do we need him for? He'll just screw it up."

"We'll need him when we go up against the Rebellion," she told him.

Russ shook his head, "No, we _won't_ need him. You and I can handle it; we can handle the Rebellion without him."

"You're not looking at all the angles, Russ. CJ can infiltrate their group if it comes to that. They'll try to kill you and me, but they won't try to kill him. We've got to keep our options open, because it's like my dad said, failure's _not_ an option."

Russ gave me the stink-eye and grumbled, "I still think he'll just get in the way."

Lexie put her foot down. "He's going, Russ. End of discussion," she spat, then turned to me, "You'll come, won't you, CJ?"

Well, duh. I nodded, "Of course."

"How do you know the Fleece is in Florida?" Noah asked, likely in an attempt to change the subject and prevent an all out fight.

"The prophecy said I had to go home. Miami is home," she explained.

"What's the prophecy, Lexie?" I asked.

She took a deep breath then recited the lines of the quest Morgan had given her,

"_The struggle you face is a family affair, and your marathon home will prove that you care._

_Brave the storm and storm the keys, but beware of what lies beyond the rough seas._

_Emotions will churn as you give chase, to recover that which has fallen from grace._"

She hesitated before finishing, "_Do what you must and don't think twice, success and failure both carry a price._"

Ugh, that didn't sound good. "What do you think it all means?" I asked.

Everyone turned to Morgan. "What?" she shrugged. "I'm just the messenger. I can't translate that cryptic garbage." And she calls _me_ hopeless.

Noah looked like he was thinking on it. "Well," he said. "_That which has fallen from grace _is obviously the Fleece."

"I wonder what it means to_ brave the storm and storm the keys_," I said.

Lexie looked like a light bulb just went off in her brain. "Keys," she said. "The Florida Keys. They're just south of Miami, not too far from my home."

"Which one, though?" Morgan asked. "There's like fifty of 'em, right?"

I shook my head, "Try 1700. A total land area of 137 square miles stretching 127 miles south of the mainland."

Morgan looked at me like I'd just dropped from outer space and asked, "Why would you know all that?"

"My mom's a walking encyclopedia."

She rolled her eyes, "_Boring_."

"Useful," I countered. "But you were kinda right. There's only about fifty major islands, ones accessible by road, anyway."

"Marathon," Lexie blurted out.

"What?" Russ asked.

"_Marathon home_. It's the Islands of Marathon in the middle keys."

"Well," Russ said. "At least we know where we're going. How do you plan to get there?"

"I don't know about you guys," she said. "But I'm flying."

Bad idea. "Flying?" I asked.

"You do remember how to ride a Pegasus, don't you?" she asked.

Pegasus…not so bad idea. "Yeah, I remember."

"Good. Get your gear together, guys," she ordered. "We leave in an hour."

For someone who was under so much pressure, Lexie was a rock. She was able to set aside her emotions, and focus on the quest. She was a born leader, poised and fearless. I often wished I had her bravery and confidence. Underneath all the bravado though, I knew her heart was aching. And I knew if we didn't find the Fleece and save her mother, she'd never forgive herself, and she'd never be the same again. I was determined not to let that happen. I'd do whatever took to keep that from happening.

I went to my cabin to pack a bag and get ready to join Lexie on her quest. I wasn't nearly as nervous about this quest as I was about my first, but the thought of Russ being with us made me…irritable. He and I hated each other, and now we had to work together to find the Fleece. This was going to be a Greek tragedy in the making, and had it been anyone other than Lexie that asked, I probably wouldn't have agreed to go on a quest with my archenemy.

After I loaded my pack with everything I thought I might need, I went to the Big House to check on Thalia, and see if Uncle Nico was able to determine how much time she had. I walked into the infirmary to find the Grace family sitting near the cot where Thalia lay. Jason and Calypso sat side by side, and Calypso had her head resting on her husband's shoulder. Lexie was sitting at her mother's side and holding her hand. A full backpack sat at her feet; she was saying goodbye to her mom.

I walked over to Nico who was standing to the right of the door. "What do you think?" I quietly asked him.

"It's not good, kid. Her life-aura is fading fast. She's got maybe four days, five at the most."

"That doesn't give us much time," I said.

He shook his head, "It sure doesn't, but you'd be amazed at what you can accomplish in just a few days when you have to. And Chase, you have to find the Fleece and get it back here, because if Thalia dies, Lexie's not the only one who will be devastated by the loss. Your parents…"

"I know," I nodded. My parents and Thalia were really good friends, and if Thalia died, it would tear them up.

"I'll stay here and monitor her condition," he said. "If anything changes, I'll be sure to IM you and let you know."

"Thanks, Uncle Nico."

"CJ," I heard Lexie's voice say, and I looked up to see her walking toward me with her pack slung over her shoulder. "We'd better get going. Russ is waiting at the stables."

"Okay," I nodded.

"Good luck," Nico said to us as we walked out of the infirmary.

Lexie looked over her shoulder back at him and said, "Thanks Nico, for everything."

"You're welcome, sweetie."

When Lexie and I made it out of the Big House and onto the porch, Chiron was there waiting for us. "Heading out?" he asked.

Lexie nodded, "If we hump it, we can get to Florida before midnight."

"A few of my brethren centaurs still roam the Everglades. If you three get in over your heads and need help, you'll find them in the Southern Glades near Homestead."

"We'll keep that in mind," Lexie said.

"Godspeed, young heroes," he said.

We thanked Chiron for his assistance and well wishes, then made our way across camp toward the Pegasus stables. Lexie was quiet as we walked, and I wanted to ask her how she was doing, but I figured that would just upset her, so I did what she was doing; I focused on the task at hand.

"So, what's the game plan?" I asked her.

"I figure it'll be pretty late by the time we get to south Florida, so we can rest and plan our next move at my house in Miami."

"That sounds like a good idea," I said. "You know, I've never been to Florida. What's it like?"

"Hot and humid," she said then looked up at my hair. "Did you pack a hat?"

"Sure did. Why?" I asked.

"Humidity like that and thick hair like yours doesn't mix well."

I dug my Mets cap out of my pack and put it on. "There," I said. "Problem solved."

"Still a Mets fan, huh?" she laughed, and it was good to see her smiling.

I nodded, "Once a Mets fan, always a Mets fan."

"You should probably turn it around backwards so it doesn't fly off on the trip."

"Good thinking," I said as I turned my hat around.

When we reached the Pegasus stables, Russ and Noah had three Pegasus-Pegasuses-Pegasi?...whatever, they had three horses with wings out of the stables and ready to fly, two white ones and one solid black one. I walked up to Noah who was patting the neck of the jet-black Pegasus, my dad's Pegasus, Blackjack.

I patted Blackjack and said, "Hey, big guy, ready to take a trip?" He cocked his head a bit; I don't think he understood a word I said, and if he was speaking to me, I didn't know it.

"You know, he's probably cussing you right now," Noah laughed. "Jade says he's got quite the mouth on him."

I nodded, "So, I've heard." It kinda made me glad I couldn't speak to horses, that way I didn't have to listen to him whine and moan. "Noah, be careful while were gone. The magical barriers…"

"I've got it under control," he assured me. "I've got plenty of help here. Don't worry about us; we'll be okay. You just focus on the quest."

I shook my best friends hand and said, "I'll see you in a few days."

He smiled, "Bring me back a t-shirt."

I laughed, "You got it."

"Are you two about done?" I heard Russ ask, and I looked over to see he'd already mounted Guido, and Lexie was climbing onto the back of Porkpie.

I rolled my eyes then mounted my Pegasus. "I'm ready," I said.

"Then let's fly," Lexie said. "Hyah!"

Her Pegasus flapped its wings, then took off into the sky, and Russ and I were right behind her.


	7. Chapter 7

7. Lexie Comes Home

Watching the sunset from so high up was pretty incredible. It was really a beautiful sight and a welcome distraction from the countless things running through my overactive brain. Jason's taught me to use my strengths to overcome my weaknesses, and apparently my brain was one of my strengths. He thought I inherited my mom's smarts. Well, maybe not her smarts, but definitely her overanalyzing mind. And since I don't have those natural instincts that demigods have, I think to prepare myself for what I might be facing.

The sunset helped clear my mind…from the quest anyway, but I had other things on my mind, too. I looked over at Lexie who had her head resting on Porkpie's mane. She was facing the sunset, so I couldn't see her face, and I wondered if she was crying. Given the situation, I wouldn't blame her if she bawled her eyes out.

"Jackson," Russ' voice brought me out of my thoughts.

I looked to my left to see Russ had come up beside me on his Pegasus. "What do you want?" I grumbled.

The look on his face was as serious as a heart attack when he said, "If you screw this up, I'll beat you to death. I'll find your weak spot and rip it out."

_Graphic_.

"I'm not going to screw it up," I insisted. "There's too much at stake."

"Damn right, there is," he said. "It's Lexie's life as she knows it…everything's at stake. Think about that before you decide to do something stupid." He nudged Guido, and flew out ahead of me without another word.

I thought about what he said and how he said it. He cared about Lexie...a lot. I might even go as far as to say he loved her. He knew, like I did, that if her mom died, she'd never be the same, and he, like me, would do anything to keep that from happening, even if it meant us killing each other in the process.

The flight to Miami was long. We took a break at a rest stop somewhere in rural North Carolina so we could use the facilities, and so the Pegasi could drink from a nearby stream and rest their wings for a bit.

I could tell Lexie still wasn't herself. She had a lot on her mind, so I could understand why, but I still missed her banter and her teasing. As much as I liked to complain about her antics, that was who she was, and I wouldn't want her to be any other way. Still, though, I felt like an outsider on the trip. She barely said two words to me while we were resting the Pegasi, and she never said a single word to me for the rest of the flight. It was like she and Russ were off in their own little world, and I was just the annoying tagalong. I guess it's like the saying goes: three's a crowd.

The closer to Miami we got, the worse the flight got. The wind had really picked up, and the clouds were so thick that not a single star could be seen. The only lights in the sky were the flashes of lightning off in the distance. We weren't the only storm rolling into south Florida.

It was nearly one in the morning when we touched down in a small community in Dade County that was about fifteen miles from the outskirts of Miami. It was an older community with less than fifty houses, most of them brick, and none of them looked like they were built in this century. Most were at least sixty years old.

Russ and I followed Lexie as she escorted the Pegasi through a small wooded area near the edge of the community. "Watch your step," she said as she shined her flashlight in the darkness. "Or you might lose a foot."

"There are monsters down here small enough for me to step on?" Russ asked her.

"Not monsters," she said, then like clockwork there was a loud hiss and growl to our left that caused the Pegasi to become uneasy. She shined her light toward the sound where she revealed a seven foot long alligator about twenty feet away staring us down. "Gators," she said.

Blackjack stomped his hooves at the reptile, and it quickly scurried away into the darkness. I patted the Pegasus on his neck to tell him good job.

Lexie looked over her shoulder and gave me a little grin, "Watch out for snakes, too. They're everywhere down here."

Well, it was good to see her teasing side make an appearance, but I was none too thrilled about it being at my expense. I could've gone without knowing about the snakes. After that, every time I stepped on a twig, I jerked thinking it might've been a snake. I really don't like snakes.

We'd only been walking for a few minutes when we came up on an old, run-down, wooden shed. It was pretty big, big enough for the three Pegasi to fit in, but the winged-horses wanted nothing to do with the shed. They continued to seem uneasy and nervous, and I wasn't sure if it was because of the gators or the approaching storm. Nervous horses are uncooperative horses, even if they are Pegasi, but after much effort, we situated Blackjack, Guido, and Porkpie into the shed for shelter and to keep them hidden, then we made our way back to the small community.

We followed Lexie down the street, and I kept an eye on the lightening off in the distance. The wind had begun to pick up even more, and a light sprinkle started to fall. Lexie led us up to a tan brick house with a small attached garage, and the motion sensor porch-light illuminated when we came into range. The house was a basic ranch-style home that was very modest in size and aesthetics. It wasn't an impressive home by any means, and its style had gone out of style decades ago.

"This is your house?" I asked as we walked up to the front door.

"Yep," she nodded as she pulled a key from her cargo pants pocket. "This is where I grew up."

She turned the key in the lock and opened the door. I was a little surprised when we walked in. From the outside, the house looked old and outdated, but the inside had been completely remodeled with a fresh, modern look: everything from the leather sofa and hardwood floors in the living room to the stainless steel appliances and custom cabinets in the kitchen.

Lexie gave us a tour of her home, which didn't take long; it had only two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, kitchen, and a utility closet. "Make yourselves at home," she said once she'd finished the tour.

I sat my pack on the floor beside the tan leather sofa then sat down. As I reached for the TV remote, I heard Russ tell Lexie he was going to take a shower, and I thought I might finally get a chance to talk to her. I flipped through the channels as I waited for Lexie to come out of the kitchen and into the living room where I was. I was a little irritated that the same thing was on every channel, but when I noticed what it was, I was alarmed. I turned the volume up, and the news announcer's voice rang out: "_Hurricane Hannah has been upgraded to a category two hurricane and is expected to reach category three status before its projected landfall near the Miami area the day after tomorrow._"

"Hey, Lexie," I called. "You'd better come listen to this."

"What is it?" she asked as she walked into the living room.

"The weather's not looking so good for us," I said as she sat down on the sofa beside me and handed me a cold can of Dr. Pepper.

We listened as the news announcer on the TV continued: "_The Florida Keys are under a voluntary evacuation notice, which will likely become mandatory if the storm continues to strengthen, and Dade and Monroe counties are under a hurricane warning until Friday. The Keys are projected to be hit the hardest, with winds in excess of one hundred miles an hour, torrential rain, and storm surge that could cause extensive flooding._"

Lexie turned to me and asked, "Does your grandfather hate you or something?"

It was a valid question; Poseidon was the Stormbringer after all. "It'd seem that way," I nodded.

"Well," she began. "I've been through hurricanes before, and they're not fun. We'll need to get in and out of the Keys before the brunt of the storm hits."

"That doesn't give us much time."

"I know," she said. "We'll get an early start in the morning and take the Pegasi down to Marathon."

"Sounds like a plan," I said.

She looked down at the floor and sighed, "I just hope we find the Fleece before it's too late."

"We will," I tried to reassure her.

She shook her head, "You don't know that, CJ."

I touched my hand to her chin and turned her face toward me. "Look at me," I said. "We'll find it, and we'll get it back to camp in time. I promise." I didn't like making promises I couldn't keep, but I fully intended to keep this promise.

"What's going on in here?" Russ asked as he walked into the living room, and I quickly pulled my hand away from Lexie; I didn't want Russ getting the wrong idea.

"A hurricane is heading for the Keys," Lexie said to him. "Our window of opportunity just got smaller."

"A hurricane? Well, that's just perfect," he grumbled. "I told you we shouldn't have brought the Sea Spawn along."

"Russ…"

Russ ignored Lexie and continued, "Your grandpa thinks it'd be fun to give you a storm to play in while we're tying to save Thalia's life or does Poseidon just hate you as much as everyone else does? Or maybe he's trying to get at Zeus by screwing up this quest and letting his daughter die?"

"You're outta line!" I snapped as I stood up from the sofa. "And don't talk about things you know nothing about. You don't know my grandfather. If you did, you'd know he wouldn't do something like that."

"Enough!" Lexie yelled. "Both of you, that's enough!"

Russ and I didn't say another word when we noticed that Lexie looked like she was about to either cry or tear us to pieces or maybe both.

She took a breath and calmed herself. "CJ," she said. "You can take Mom's room; Russ can sleep on the sofa. And there are towels on the shelf in the bathroom if you want to shower."

I glared at Russ as I picked my pack up off the floor and said, "Okay, thanks Lexie."

I went straight for the bathroom, because I desperately needed a shower. I smelled like a horse, and maybe a hot shower would calm my nerves a little, too. I was still fired up about what Russ said. I sometimes wonder if that guy even thinks before he speaks.

I could hear Lexie and Russ yelling at each other over the sound of the running water. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but they sure were having a screaming match. Couples fight; I get it. Gods know my parents get at each other's throats sometimes. I didn't know what they were fighting about, but I had a feeling it might've been about the little argument Russ and I had.

When I turned the shower off, they were still yelling. I quickly toweled myself off and got dressed, because I had a feeling I might have to break up a knock-down, drag-out fight. I was just about to open the bathroom door when the yelling suddenly stopped. My first thought was that one of them had killed the other. I walked out of the bathroom and peaked around the corner to see which of them was standing over a dead body, but to my disgust, I saw them making out. I guess they worked out their differences. I had no interest in watching the two of them suck face, so I walked down the hall and into Thalia's bedroom and quietly closed the door behind me.

I got myself settled into Thalia's bed, which might've been the most comfortable bed in the world, and before I even had a chance to think about what might happen tomorrow, I was out like a light.

My dream began with three familiar faces: Barka, Mason, and Finn. They were standing around a metal table in a room that looked strangely like a bank vault, and on the table laid the Golden Fleece.

"Our intel indicates three are coming after the Fleece," Mason said to Barka.

"The same three we encountered last summer?" he asked.

"Jackson and that Grace girl, yes," she nodded. "But the other is a son of Ares."

"So the legacy is with them, very good. Our plan is working out wonderfully," Barka smiled, then turned to Finn. "Are things with the mortal progressing as planned?"

Finn nodded, "She's right where we want her."

"We might be able to get Jackson after all. And the demigods, we'll just dispose of them," Barka said looking straight at Finn. "If you think you can handle that?"

"I can handle it," Finn insisted. "And I'll do it myself, if I have to."

"As long as you're not conflicted," Barka said.

"I'm not," he assured Barka. "The Rebellion is my family, not that demigod."

I nearly fell out of bed when I heard a pounding on the door. "CJ…CJ, get up!" Lexie yelled through the door. "We need to get going."

I felt like I'd only been asleep for a few minutes, but I looked over at the clock to see it was already 6 a.m., which meant I'd gotten about four hours of sleep, not nearly as much as I would've liked.

"CJ!" she yelled again.

"I'm up. I'm up," I groaned as I rolled out of bed. "I'll be out in a minute."

As I put my jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers on, I thought about my dream…mainly the last bit of it. I knew Finn was a legacy, because last summer Morgan was able to slice his arm open with a celestial bronze dagger. Had he been mortal, the blade would've just passed through him like a phantom. Now though, I was a little closer to figuring out which god he was descended from. He was related to either Lexie or Russ, which left three options: Apollo, Ares, or Zeus.

I was shaken from my thoughts by a crack of thunder that shook the house and caused the lights to flicker. I could hear the steady rain against the window, and the thought of flying on the back of a Pegasus through the storm wasn't appealing…at all.

I slung my pack over my shoulder and put my Mets cap on. When I walked into the living room, Lexie and Russ were waiting for me. Lexie tossed me a black raincoat that was identical to the ones she and Russ were wearing. "You'll need that," she said.

As I put on the raincoat, I asked, "I don't suppose you made any coffee this morning?"

She shook her head, "Afraid not. Come to think of it, I don't think we even have a coffee maker."

"You're not serious?"

She shrugged, "We don't drink coffee. But there's some Dr. Peppers in the fridge."

I grabbed a couple cans of Dr. Pepper out of the refrigerator; I stuffed one into my pack for later and cracked open the other. It wasn't coffee, but it was caffeine, so hopefully it'd give me a little pick me up, because four hours of sleep was barely enough for me to function.

"You guys got everything?" Lexie asked as we walked to the front door.

Russ and I nodded in the affirmative, then followed Lexie out into the storm.


	8. Chapter 8

8. Highway to Hell

When we reached the old shed where we'd put the Pegasi up for the night and found it empty, I wasn't really surprised. They knew the storm was coming and that it was going to be bad; that's why they were so antsy last night. And I don't blame them for taking off, because flying toward a hurricane was borderline psychotic, anyway.

"What now?" Russ asked when he saw that our only means of transportation had flown the coop.

"Well," Lexie said. "I guess we'll just have to take Mom's truck…and hope she never finds out about it."

"Lexie, I think your mom would understand us using her truck considering the circumstances," I reasoned.

She shook her head as she walked past me and said, "Don't count on it."

"What's so special about your mom's truck that she wouldn't want us using it?" Russ asked as we walked back toward Lexie's house.

"She works out of it," Lexie explained…vaguely.

When we reached her garage, Lexie entered the code on the keypad and the garage door began to open revealing a jacked-up Ford pickup that was spray-painted camouflage. It was an older model full-size pickup with a single cab and a six-foot bed, and in the bed of the truck was the coolest assortment of monster-slaying toys I'd ever seen. There was a flamethrower, harpoon, mounted crossbows, and even a grenade launcher.

"Your mom's hardcore," Russ said as he admired Thalia's truck.

Lexie nodded, "Yeah, she takes her work very seriously."

I raised my eyebrows and asked, "What exactly does she do?" I had no idea what Thalia did for a living. It never crossed my mind to ask until now.

Lexie looked like she was thinking on how to explain it, then she said, "She's a kind of bounty hunter, I guess you'd say. Like a monster slayer for hire. She and a group of demigods, former Amazons, and even a few legacies work together to kill the monsters that've been plaguing Miami since the centaurs left the Glades. There are some wealthy demigods and legacies in the Miami area, and they pay big money to keep the monster population down."

"Is she taking applications?" Russ asked. "Because that's got to be the ultimate job."

Lexie gave her boyfriend a grin, "I don't know if you could handle working for my mom. Do you know how much hell she'd give you about our relationship?"

"Oh, come on. Your mom loves me."

Lexie rolled her eyes as she opened the driver's side door of the pickup. "You just keep telling yourself that," she said to him.

We piled into Thalia's truck, and I had to sit in the middle because Russ' long legs would've blocked the shifter. Lexie was in the driver's seat, and she pulled the ignition key from its obvious hiding spot above the sun visor. She stuck the key in the ignition, but hesitated before starting the engine.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"I'm trying to remember how to do this," she said.

"Do what?" I asked. "Drive?"

"Drive a stick-shift," she clarified. "I've never actually driven one before. I've just watched Mom do it."

_Fantastic_.

"Um, I think you clutch while you shift," I said. I really had no idea. I was just guessing from what I'd seen in movies.

"Lex, press one foot on the brake and one on the clutch," Russ instructed, and she did as he said. "Now start the engine."

Russ continued to instruct her on how to use the standard transmission, and after the truck's engine died a dozen times and after much yelling back and forth between the two, Lexie finally had her Mom's truck out on the highway.

She attempted to shift into a higher gear as she picked up speed, and the gearbox groaned at her failing attempt to find fourth gear. "If you can't find 'em, grind 'em," Russ laughed.

"Shut-up," she spat as she was still failing to find fourth gear. "I've got this."

"If you say so, but when you burn up that clutch or that transmission, don't come crying to me."

"Lexie, why don't you just let Russ drive since he knows how," I suggested. I didn't want to be stranded on the side of the road in the middle of a hurricane because she messed up the powertrain.

"Well, how about that. For once, Jackson actually has a good idea," Russ sneered.

"Both of you, shut-up!" Lexie yelled at us. "I'm driving."

Russ and I both sat quietly after being yelled at. I didn't want to fight with her, and I think Russ was already tired of fighting with her. They'd certainly done plenty of that on this trip. As she drove down the highway in the pouring rain with the headlights shining and the wipers on full speed, I could tell she was focusing hard on the mechanics of driving the stick-shift and before long, she had it whooped. She wasn't a pro by any means, but she was able to find every gear and shift through them smoothly. I watched her technique closely, so that if I ever got into a situation where I needed to know how to drive one, I would.

We'd been on the road for about half an hour, and I couldn't really see much out of the windshield because of the rain, but I did notice a sign that read: Alligator Crossing. A fence ran along the right side of the highway, and just on the other side of the fence was acres upon acres of mangroves.

"We're coming into the Southern Glades," Lexie said. "Stay alert. Things might get dicey."

"What do you mean?" I asked, and right on cue, Lexie slammed on the brake.

We were stopped in the middle of the highway with the headlights shining on a Hydra. I have the _worst_ luck. The beast raised its five heads into the air and screeched so loudly that it shook the truck. Steam bellowed from the nostrils of the center head as its enormous claw scraped the pavement like a bull preparing to charge.

Lexie never took her eyes off the Hydra when she said, "CJ, slide open the back glass and climb into the bed of the truck."

_Score_! I was about to play with Thalia's sweet killing toys. "You got it," I said as I pulled the hood of my raincoat up over my hat and synched it tight, then slid open the back window and crawled into the bed of the truck.

I looked over the roof of the truck and saw the Hydra begin to charge. Lexie punched the accelerator, and the truck took off in reverse, which caused me to stumble and fall on my ass in the bed of the truck. I quickly got back to my feet and took up station at the closest mounted weapon; it was the harpoon. The Hydra was far bigger than the truck, so I had to even the odds a little. If I were able to hook the monster with the harpoon, Lexie could use the horsepower of the pickup to take it off its feet.

I aimed the harpoon carefully and gauged the distance as best I could in the poor visibility caused by the rain. When I had the crosshairs right where I wanted them, I pulled the trigger. The harpoon flew straight and fast over the roof of the truck and skewered the Hydra just below the spine. The monster stopped in its tracks, roaring and flailing its many heads before the cable that connected the harpoon and the truck became taut, which jerked the truck so hard that it spun around in the opposite direction, again sending me crashing down into the truck bed and knocking the Hydra off its feet. When I tried to stand, Lexie punched the accelerator again, and I went rolling in the bed of the truck, my head bringing me to a stop against the tailgate. If Lexie was watching through the rearview mirror, I bet she was laughing at the sight of me being tossed around like a rag doll.

When I finally got to my feet and looked out into the driving rain, I saw the Hydra being dragged down the highway behind the truck. It was thrashing about, trying to bite the cable that had it hooked to the truck. The center head was breathing fire onto the cable to break it, but it wasn't working; it wasn't breaking. Thalia's equipment was top of the line, that's for sure.

"Jackson!" I heard Russ' voice call out, and I turned to see him climb out of the truck through the passenger side window and do some sort of Spiderman-crawl into the truck-bed where I was. "Get on the flamethrower," he ordered, and I obliged, because I figured he had a plan.

"Keep driving, Lex!" he yelled at her. "Don't let off the gas!"

Russ hit a button on the winch and it began reeling in the harpoon cable, effectively reeling the monster closer to the truck. What was he thinking? "Are you nuts?" I asked.

"Are you a complete idiot?" Russ countered. "I can't cut its heads off from this distance. I have to get it in closer. You just be ready with that flamethrower…if you think you can handle it?"

I'd have half a mind to light his ass on fire with it. "I've got it under control!" I yelled.

Russ laughed at me, "Famous last words!"

When the Hydra was within about ten feet of the truck, Russ stopped the winch, drew his sword, and leaped out of the truck-bed and onto the beast's back. I could say a lot of negative things about the guy, but I couldn't say he wasn't brave.

I'd heard stories about Hydras all my life, so I knew the drill: cut off the heads and burn the necks, hence the flamethrower. Failure to cauterize the necks would result in two new heads growing in place of the one, and five Hydra heads are better than ten.

The flamethrower was mounted on a swivel pedestal near the tailgate, and I swung the big gun around, aiming it at the Hydra. I touched my finger to the hair trigger to test it, and a puff of flames shot out of the barrel. It was in working order, so now all I had to do was wait for Russ to begin the decapitation and hope I wouldn't flame-broil Lexie's boyfriend, because she would swear I did it on purpose.

Watching Russ crawl around on the back of a Hydra that was being dragged down a highway behind a pickup truck in the pouring rain at about fifty miles an hour was a sight to behold, to say the least.

Russ was doing all he could to hang on to the slippery beast that was still flailing about and trying to knock him to the ground. I needed to make a diversion to take the Hydra's attention away from Russ, so he could start slicing and dicing. I reached over to one of the mounted crossbows and fired off a shot at the beast. The arrow drilled the center head in the nostril, and the monster roared in either pain or laughter, then all five heads turned their attention to me, at which point I think I peed myself.

The center head opened its enormous mouth, and I was just about to turn my back to it and take the flames that I knew were coming, when the head suddenly detached from the body and toppled to the pavement. Russ did it; he cut the head off. I guess he wasn't so useless after all.

As Russ quickly jumped over onto another neck of the beast to avoid its poisonous blood, I aimed the flamethrower at the stump where there used to be a head and pulled the trigger. Flames shot out of the barrel and scorched the headless neck, successfully cauterizing it. We repeated the process until all five heads had been removed and the necks burned to a crisp.

I pounded on the roof of the truck to get Lexie to stop, and when she finally did, the Hydra was no more than a grease spot on the highway.

Lexie jumped out of the truck and ran over to Russ. "You did it!" she squealed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and he picked her up and spun her around in celebration.

When Russ finally put her down, they were both laughing and carrying on about how awesome Russ did, and I was still standing in the bed of the truck, now wearing my best pouty-face.

Lexie finally looked up at me, and I put my hands on my hips. "I don't get a hug?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes, "Oh, shut-up. You were awesome, too." That's right, I was awesome.

"Come on, guys," Russ said. "We'd better get back on the move before we get ambushed by some other swamp creature."

I reeled in the harpoon and placed it back on its mount before climbing back into the cab, and in a few short minutes, we were on the move again. We'd been on the road for less than an hour when we reached the Keys. There was a steady flow of traffic in the oncoming lane, but we were the only vehicle heading into the Keys.

"Everyone's evacuating," Lexie said. "I hope we can make it to Marathon before the highway department closes the road."

I reached toward the dashboard and turned on the radio. I scanned through the stations until I found a clear one and turned up the volume. The weather forecaster's voice sounded urgent: "_Residents of the Florida Keys are strongly urged to evacuate. Hurricane Hannah has strengthened quicker than anticipated and has recently been upgraded to category three status. She's still tracking toward the Keys and is projected to make landfall around 3 a.m._"

"She's picking up speed and strength," Lexie sighed. "Once we get to Marathon, we may not be able to get out before the storm hits."

"We'll just find shelter and ride it out, then," I said.

"I just wonder if the Rebellion will still be there when we get there," Russ said. "How do we know they haven't evacuated?"

"They haven't, and they won't," I said.

He narrowed his eyes at me, "Okay, genius, what makes you so sure?"

"I had a dream last night," I said. "They know we're coming, and they're waiting for us."

Lexie slowed the truck and said, "Well, they may be waiting a while. The highway department just closed the road."

I looked out of the windshield to see a police car and utility truck blocking the road. They were setting up a barrier and road closed signs in both lanes of the highway, which brought our quest screeching to a halt. We were still several miles from Marathon, and now we had no way to get there.

"What now?" Russ asked. "Blast through the barricade?"

Lexie shook her head, "No, because if one of the bridges ahead are out or if the road's flooded, then we'll really be screwed. I know another way."

Lexie turned the truck around and headed toward the Duck Key docks. "A boat?" I asked her.

She nodded, "We'll have to steal one, but I don't figure anyone's using their boats today."

I didn't like the idea of stealing someone else's property, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Hopefully we could get the boat back before anyone realized it was missing, but if not, the owner could just claim it went missing in the storm. Insurance would cover a loss like that, right?

Lexie parked her mom's truck in the mostly empty parking lot by the docks, and we synched up our raincoats before getting out into the storm. The wind and rain were tough, but not nearly as bad as I knew it was going to get. The weather we were experiencing was just an outer rain band of Hurricane Hannah. Her full wrath wouldn't be on us until the early morning hours, which gave me a sense of urgency. We needed to get this job done and get out of the Keys before nightfall.

We walked along the docks, scouting the boats to find one that would be suitable for our needs, one that would be stable and safe in the churning waters. Lexie stopped and stared at a thirty foot long Scarab powerboat. The boat was white with black pinstripes, and it had a steering column in the center and a closed cabin at the bow. At the stern were two 300 horsepower outboard motors, and the boat's name was written in Latin on the port side: _Idus Martiae_.

"The Ides of March," Lexie easily translated. She could read Latin and ancient Greek so much easier than English.

"Um, isn't that the day Julius Caesar was assassinated?" Russ asked.

Lexie nodded, "Yep, but today the words are really just used as a metaphor for _impending doom_."

"Impending doom, huh? Sounds about right," Russ said.

"And it's also CJ's birthday, so that's gotta be a sign, right?" she added, and I was surprised that she remembered my birth date.

"Jackson was born on a day that means _impending doom_?" Russ laughed. "Oh, that's _too_ ironic."

I just rolled my eyes and asked, "So, are we taking this boat or what?"

Lexie turned to me and shrugged, "You're the captain; you tell me."

"Since when am I the captain?"

"You're the boating expert," she said. "So that makes you the captain."

I wouldn't say I was a boating _expert_, but I'd been around boats all my life. Dad taught me to sail on a little catamaran in the bay at Montauk when I was only six. I've sailed and driven powerboats and personal watercraft for as long as I can remember. It's something Dad and I loved to do together.

I looked the boat over, and I knew it was just what we needed. It was a big, fast, and stable boat that should cut right through the choppy water and get us to Marathon safely. I nodded to Lexie, "This boat will do."


	9. Chapter 9

9. Rough Seas

We climbed aboard the _Idus Martiae_ and embarked on a desperate search for the ignition key. One thing I didn't know about boats was how to hot-wire one.

Finally, after about fifteen minutes of searching, Russ emerged from the cabin with the key. "I found it stashed in a lock-box," he said as he tossed me the key.

"How'd you get into the lock-box?" I asked.

"With my fist," he said. I should have known a son of Ares would break into a safe with his fist.

I put the key into the ignition and turned it. Nothing. I turned it again, and still, nothing. "Godsbedamned battery," I muttered to myself.

"Why won't it start?" Lexie asked.

"The battery's dead," I said. "Russ, you didn't happen to notice a battery booster in the cabin, did you?"

He shook his head, "No, but we don't need a booster pack; Lexie can give us a jump."

I was confused, "What?"

Russ looked over at his girlfriend and gave her a sly grin, "She can give quite a jolt when she wants to."

Her eyes widened, and she gasped, "Russ!"

"Well, it's true," he said.

"You have powers that can boost off a battery?" I asked her.

She nodded, "I've got a little of that Zeus electricity flowing through my veins. It's not much, though. It's usually just enough to give fairly harsh static electric shock. I've never tried boosting a battery before."

"Well," I shrugged. "No time like the present."

Russ lifted the back hatch where the battery compartment was, and Lexie stared at the battery that was obviously foreign to her. "Now, how do I do this?" she asked.

"Just give it a good zap there on the positive and negative ports," Russ instructed.

She rubbed her hands together then touched her fingers to the battery. Sparks flew, and it scared me there for a second. I thought she'd electrocuted herself, but it never fazed her. She just kept giving the battery little jolts of electricity. I kept turning the key, and on about the fifth try, the engines roared to life.

"You did it, Lexie," I smiled.

"I guess I did," she grinned, then stumbled. "And I think I should sit down."

Russ wrapped his arm around her and held her up so she wouldn't fall down. "That wiped you, huh?" he laughed.

Her eyes were heavy, and she yawned, "Remind me to never do that again."

For children of Zeus with that lightning touch, boosting a battery would've been a breeze, but legacies that have powers from their godly grandparent, tend to have lesser powers. Lexie had just used her Zeus-powers to the max, and though it wasn't impressive comparatively, it took all her energy to muster up enough electricity to boost the battery, and it wiped her out.

"Let's get you into the cabin so you can lie down," Russ said to her as he helped her toward the bow. Just before they went into the cabin, Russ turned to me and said, "I'll be back up in a minute."

I let the engines idle for a few minutes to warm them up while I turned on the bilge pump so it could begin siphoning out the rainwater that was beginning to pool near the stern. I checked the gauges, entered Marathon into the GPS, and turned the AM frequency radio to the coastguard weather station. The station was fuzzy, but I could hear the current conditions report: "_Sustained winds: twenty knots, gusting to thirty. High tide with three foot storm surge and six foot seas_." It was going to be a long and bumpy thirteen mile ride to Marathon, that's for sure.

As I was untying the mooring line at the stern, I heard Russ' voice, "Ready for me to untie the line at the bow?"

I nodded to him, "Go for it."

He untied the line and shoved the boat away from the dock, then I shifted the throttle into reverse and backed the thirty foot powerboat out of its dock. Russ sat down in the seat to my left where the closed bow would block the wind and rain.

As I carefully maneuvered the boat around and slowly pulled away from the docks in the choppy water, I asked, "How's Lexie?"

"She's fine. She's sleeping," he said.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Did what on purpose?" he asked.

"Manipulated Lexie. She hasn't slept in two days; that's why you had her boost the battery. You knew she'd use a lot of energy doing it. She needed sleep, and you knew that would knock her out."

Russ crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at me, "You really think I'd trick her like that?"

"I know you would," I confirmed.

His frown turned into a smirk, "Well, you're smarter than you look, then."

I didn't respond to his comment, but when we cleared the long row of docks, I said, "Hang on, it's about to get rough."

Russ gripped the armrest of his seat and said, "Give her hell."

I held onto the wheel tight and pushed the throttle forward. The boat quickly picked up speed and began slamming through the tall waves. The boat pounded the waves as we sped toward Marathon in the strong winds and driving rain. The motion of the boat was enough to make even a seasoned sailor nauseous, but it never fazed me. Russ, however, was turning a little green, so I pushed the throttle down some more, making the ride even more uncomfortable. I was bound and determined to make the guy toss his cookies...which he eventually did. I figured Lexie would wake from the pounding and rocking. The cabin was at the bow, and the bow was taking a beating, but she never stirred. She must've been out cold.

The visibility was poor, so I relied on the GPS to guide me toward Marathon. We'd been cruising for nearly an hour and were only about half-way there; thirteen miles on the water is a long way, especially when I could only go about twenty miles an hour because of the rough seas.

I glanced over at Russ who was still huddled in his seat against the cabin. He had his raincoat pulled tight around him, but he was still soaking wet and was shivering. I didn't realize until then that he was probably miserable, and I felt a little sorry for him. It was summer, but the wind and rain were still cold. I wasn't bothered by it; the cold has never bothered me, nor has the heat. It must be a curse thing.

"Russ," I said. "How about you go into the cabin and check on Lexie. You can dry off and warm up while you're in there."

The son of Ares didn't say a word; he just nodded and made his way into the cabin, leaving me alone on deck. In a few more miles, I hit a little break in the weather. The rain lightened to a sprinkle, and the wind and waves died down a bit. As I steered the boat in the calmer seas, I thought about my dad. This would've been right up his ally, and I wished he was there with me. I didn't realize just how much I wished he was there until a few minutes later when an enormous sea monster broke the surface of the water a few hundred yards ahead of me. First it was a Hydra and now Nessie…and it wasn't even noon yet. This was going to be a long day.

I pulled the throttle back and the boat sat at idle, slightly rocking and swaying in the waves as the enormous, black-scaled sea serpent stared down at me with its bright red eyes. Its long neck with spiked fins running along the spine rose up out of the water nearly two stories high, and I was getting a crick in my neck from looking up at its dragon-like head.

The sea serpent was snake-like in its movements, which gave me the creeps, but its dragon-like features reminded me of Peleus, which made me a little sad. The serpent glided through the water as it circled the boat, coming ever closer with each revolution. The monster was patient and deliberate as it sized me up, and I made no sudden movements that might be interpreted as threatening. If I didn't appear to be a threat, maybe it would leave me alone. I wasn't sure if it could smell me, but it likely could. Monsters that are descended from Poseidon and those that reside in his realm usually smell me, even if I am mortal. And I'm sure the boat reeked of godling-smell, since two demigods were also on board.

I cut my eyes toward the bow when I her the cabin door open. Russ stuck his head out and said, "Why are-"

"Shh," I hushed him, and he careened his head around to see what I was looking up at.

"Oh, that's why," he whispered, then slowly eased back into the cabin.

"Thanks for all the help, Russ," I muttered under my breath.

The sea dragon continued closing in on the boat, and I slowly reached into the back pocket of my jeans, pulling out my pen. My thumb was ready on the button, so at the first sign of attack, I could transform it into my sword.

The monster suddenly stopped swimming, and its fire-red eyes were staring at the bow. I glanced over and saw Russ and Lexie slowly and quietly emerging from the cabin. Lexie had her hairpin in her hand, ready to transform it into her bow at a seconds notice, and Russ had one hand on the grip of his sheathed sword and in the other was his switchblade knife that was his spear in collapsed form.

As the two made their way over to me very slowly and non-threatening like, the sea serpent resumed its circling of the boat like a vulture circling a carcass. We all three stood motionless apart from the swaying caused by the rocking of the boat in the waves, and we never took our eyes off the monster.

"Cetea are smart," Lexie whispered. "They don't live to be so old and grow to be so big by being stupid."

"Didn't Perseus slay one back in the day?" Russ asked.

"My dad?" I asked. Dad told me a story about facing the Kraken once, but I don't recall him mentioning a sea serpent.

"No, the other Perseus," Lexie clarified. "And yes, he did."

"How'd he kill it?"

"Well, there are two stories. One says he killed it by driving a sword into its back and the other says he turned it to stone using Medusa's head."

"I don't suppose either one of you have the head of Medusa stuffed in your pack?" I asked.

Lexie shook her head, "That'd be a big, fat negative."

The sea monster once again stopped its circling, and we watched with surprise as it slowly descended back into the water, disappearing under the surface. We stood in amazement for a minute. It just left without a fight.

Russ shook his head, "We can't be that lucky."

"You're right," Lexie said. "That was too easy."

I agreed with them. Monsters don't back down that easily, and I'm certainly not that lucky. A few moments had passed, and there was still no sign of it. I was just about to push the throttle forward and resume our course toward Marathon when the monster's head emerged from the water only feet from the bow. The serpent hissed as water dripped from its scales and its now visible fangs. The monster's head was nearly as big as the boat, and one good chomp of its jaws could break the thirty foot powerboat in half.

I knew I had to fight this one. Russ and Lexie were capable fighters, more capable than me, but I had an advantage in this situation, an advantage I'd only become aware of a few weeks ago; I can't drown. With the rough conditions and the sheer size of the monster, either one of them could easily be lost at sea if they hit the water.

"Russ, you've driven a boat before, right?" I asked.

"Um, sure," he said, and I didn't actually believe him, but what choice did I have?

"Take the wheel," I told him.

"What are you going to do?" Lexie asked me.

"I'm going to kill it," I said. "I'll need you to fire arrows at it to keep it distracted."

She nodded, "You got it."

"Russ, keep the boat in range, but not too close," I said as I pressed the button on my pen, and it grew into my sword. I turned to Lexie, "Wish me luck."

"Good luck and be careful."

"I'll be fine. I'm invulnerable remember," I winked, then dove over the side of the boat as Lexie was muttering something about me being incorrigible.

As I swam under the surface of the water toward the sea serpent, I heard the boat take off, and I heard screeching and could see the monster begin to thrash about. Lexie had begun her assault.

I swam alongside the serpent's submerged body, looking for a spot along its back where I could plant my sword, but the spiny dorsal fin ran down the entire length of its back, which made me think the Medusa story was the right one. There was no way to penetrate the serpents back through the six foot tall dorsal fin.

The beast made a forceful jerk, and I was suddenly looking the monster in its face. I made a panicked gurgle and peed myself for the second time this morning. I turned on a dime and began swimming away from its enormous jaws as fast as I could…but it wasn't fast enough. The monster's teeth clamped down on my legs, and in one swift motion, it threw its head back and released me, sending me shooting up out of the sea and into the air. I was probably a hundred feet up when I began falling back toward the water.

I could see the boat off to my left and the silhouette of the serpent beneath the water as I plummeted toward the sea. The fall seemed like it took forever, and it gave me enough time to regain my composure. I gripped my sword tightly and positioned myself into a swan dive. A belly-buster from that height likely would've killed me. I was about to hit the water head first when I once again came face-to-face with the sea monster. This time, it was with its wide open mouth, and there was nothing I could do. If only I had power over water like Dad, then maybe I could've avoided being eaten alive by the beast, but as it was, I didn't, and I was swallowed whole by the serpent.

So, the belly of a sea monster was a pretty disgusting place. It was dark, wet, and slimy and the odor and taste were foul…something between rotten fish and smelly feet, a smell I knew I'd be wearing for days. My first thought was _what the hell do I do now_? I was trapped in the stomach of a monster that would soon be digesting me. Sure I had invulnerability in my favor, but that only goes so far. Once the corrosive stomach acids hit my weak spot, I'd be done for. I had to find a way out before it came to that.

I swam around in the monsters gut using the glow off my sword like a flashlight. When I finally found the stomach wall, I cut through it with my sword. It must've been painful, because I was suddenly being tossed around the monster's innards as it flopped like a fish out of water.

I made my way through a maze of internal organs, and when I caught a glimpse of the spine, I made my way toward it. As the story goes, Perseus killed the serpent by stabbing it in the back, so it was worth a shot. I got into position at the spine, reared my sword back, and slammed it into the beast's spinal cord.

The monster began thrashing about wildly as its insides began to fizz. Its organs were bubbling into foam around me, and within minutes, the sea serpent had dissolved completely. It was now merely a slick of sea foam being carried away by the current. It worked; I actually killed it.

I broke the surface of the water and coughed up what looked like mud; no doubt it was that nastiness from the serpent's gut. When I finally caught my breath, I looked around for the boat. It wasn't too far away, and when I yelled, it came racing toward me.

Russ pulled the boat up alongside me, and Lexie leaned over the side to help me in. When she got me onboard and saw that I was alright, she tackled me with a hug, which was not the reception I was expecting. I figured she'd tease me about being fish bait or tell me how bad I smelled.

"I thought you were dead," her voice cracked a little, and I noticed Russ looked like he was about to tackle me, too, except he wanted to choke me, not hug me.

She released me from the hug, and I looked into her eyes that were red like she'd been crying. I gave her a grin for reassurance, "You should've known it'd take more than a little sea monster to kill me."

She shook her head, "CJ, the thing ate you."

"Ugh, don't remind me."

She smiled at that, then punched me in the shoulder. "Don't you ever scare me like that again," she said. Lexie doesn't scare easily. Maybe it was her emotions getting the best of her because of what all she's had to deal with in the last couple of days, but whatever the reason, the thought of losing me scared her.

"I'll try not to," I assured her.

"Good," she nodded, then grimaced. "Oh, by the way, you smell…really, really bad."


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: A preview of the summary for Heroes and Legacies Book 3 is now up on my bio, if anyone's interested.**

**-dmac**

10. I Run Into A Friend

I took a quick bath in the sea to wash the serpent gut funk off, and after scrubbing until my bar of lemon soap was nearly gone, I still stunk. I changed into some clean clothes that I had in my pack, then took over at the wheel and resumed course toward Marathon.

By the time we docked in Marathon, the weather had really begun to get bad. The rain was steady, and the wind was gusting so hard that it nearly knocked me off my feet. Hurricane Hannah was closing in fast.

As we walked down a street toward the middle of town, I noticed most homes and businesses had their windows boarded up, and the town seemed deserted. Most people did the smart thing and evacuated.

Marathon's not a big city; it's actually just a small fishing and vacation town that covers several keys, hence the name Islands of Marathon. As we walked through the town, I caught a glimpse of a neon sign that read: OPEN. It was a restaurant.

"You guys hungry?" I asked.

Lexie nodded, "Starving."

I pointed toward the open diner. "We can plan our next move while we eat."

The diner was nearly as deserted as the rest of the town. The only customers were three scruffy old men, probably retired fishermen, sitting at a table drinking coffee and watching the weather report on the small TV mounted on the wall.

A heavy-set man wearing a white apron seated us at a booth. "You three are pretty brave venturing out into the storm," he said.

Lexie shrugged, "We were hungry."

The man smiled, "Well, you've come to the right place. What can I get you?"

We reviewed the menu and placed our order. Russ and Lexie both got the seafood platter, but after having been seafood myself today, I ordered chicken. Since we were pretty much the only customers, it wasn't long before we got our plates of food, and we stuffed our faces while we planned our next move.

"So, you're thinking a bank?" Lexie asked.

I nodded, "It looked like they were in a bank vault in my dream. There was a huge steel door and metal compartments in the wall."

"Like safety deposit boxes?"

"Yeah, that's what they were," I recalled. "It's got to be a bank."

Russ pointed his fork at me and said, "Now, explain to me how a group of kids were able to set up shop inside a bank? Cops would be on 'em in minutes."

He had a point. I was stumped with that question, but Lexie shook her head, "Not necessarily. The Islands of Marathon have been populated for two centuries, so there may be some abandoned buildings in the older parts of town. The Rebellion could've found an old abandoned bank to use as a safe-house."

"Do you know where exactly these abandoned buildings are?" I asked.

"Unfortunately not," she said. "I've actually only been here a couple of times, and even then I was just passing through."

The man who served our food came up to our booth and asked, "Anyone need a drink refill?"

None of us did, so we told him no thank you, and before he walked away he said, "You kids aren't locals, are you? I bet you're from that camp."

Our eyes widened with surprise, and I quickly asked, "Camp?"

"You know, the summer teen camp they're having down in the old business district," he said.

_Bingo_.

I played on his assumption, "Yeah, there's a lot of us here for summer camp, huh?"

He nodded, "Sure are. You kids have Second Avenue more alive than I've seen it in nearly forty years. But I figured they would've evacuated you guys because of the hurricane."

"The roads closed before the busses could get here, so we're stuck," Lexie said, joining the ruse. "We'll just have to ride it out."

He smiled and nodded as he placed the check on the table, "In that case, you kids be safe."

When he walked away, Lexie turned to me and smiled, "That was brilliant. You played him like a fiddle."

"So, the Rebellion's cover is teen camp," Russ said. "Clever."

"And now we know where to find them," Lexie said.

I nodded, "Second Avenue."

I left some cash on the table to pay for our meals, and I glanced up at the TV as we were walking toward the door. The current radar image was on the screen, and it wasn't pretty. Hurricane Hannah was huge and barreling straight for us. I got the distinct feeling she'd be here much sooner than forecasted.

I felt a strong, calloused hand grip my arm, and I stopped cold in my tracks. The touch sent a shiver up my spine, but it also gave me a feeling of power and strength. I turned to see it was one of the old fishermen that had been drinking coffee. The old man had long gray hair and a long gray beard, and his striking green eyes stared straight into mine.

"The storm's going to be rough, and it'll be a distraction. Use it to your advantage, but don't let it distract _you_," he said to me. "And be careful out there, son."

I nodded to the old man who I knew was my grandfather, "Yes, sir."

He winked at me and said, "Now, get going."

I gave him one last nod, then joined Lexie and Russ at the door. Lexie grabbed a tourist map from the brochure rack, and whispered to me, "What was that all about?"

I shrugged, "Eh, just some old man rambling about the storm."

"Boy," she shook her head. "You're just a magnet for weirdness, aren't you?"

"Tell me about it."

Lexie quickly reviewed the map of the town. "It looks like Second Avenue is about ten blocks south of here," she said.

"We'd better get going then," I said as I glanced at my watch. "It's already one o'clock. If we want to get out of here before nightfall, we'll have to act fast."

We walked the ten blocks to Second Avenue in the rain that was now blowing sideways. Leaves and branches from trees, paper and plastic trash, and even a few tarps were being blown through the streets by the hurricanes increasingly strong winds.

It was the middle of the day, but the heavy cloud cover and rain made it seem much later. The darkness was about that of dusk. The storm was nothing if not annoying, and I was a little upset with my grandfather that he'd bring a hurricane to the very place where I was on a quest. Maybe Poseidon was right, though. Maybe we could use the storm to our advantage, as I'm sure the hurricane was equally annoying to the Rebellion, which made me think Poseidon probably had our best interests in mind by bringing a hurricane to the Keys.

When we reached the old business district and Second Avenue, it wasn't deserted like the rest of the town. Many cars lined the street, parallel parked outside the many old business buildings. Of the old buildings, there was a law firm, a post office, a pharmacy, and a bank.

I pointed toward the large bank. "There," I said.

There were a few people in yellow raincoats milling around outside the bank, guards maybe, and there were others who were rushing to and from the bank from cars and other buildings.

"Let's come up from behind the building across the street, so we can stake out the place," Russ suggested.

Lexie nodded, "Good idea."

We fell back a block, then came around behind the abandoned electronics store that sat directly across the street from the bank. We took cover in some shrubbery on the north side of the building where the wall was blocking the howling wind and rain. We each pulled our binoculars from our packs and surveyed the bank across the street.

Everyone I saw was young: early to late teens. There were about half a dozen of the guards wearing yellow raincoats surrounding the building, and there were four people in street clothes standing just outside the front door of the bank like they were waiting on something.

"We can take 'em," Russ said. "There's not that many."

"On the outside," Lexie said. "No telling how many are on the inside, and did you notice they're carrying pistols? We wouldn't stand a chance…well, except for CJ."

Russ bit his lip. I think he might've been jealous that I had a better chance at infiltrating the bank than he did.

"Then let's wait until nightfall," Russ said. "I can sneak around the perimeter and take out the guards. They'll never see me coming after dark."

"How do you know they won't see you?" I asked him.

Russ turned to Lexie and pointed at me, "Is he serious?"

Lexie just grinned and laughed.

I shrugged, "What? Am I missing something?"

"I'm black, you idiot."

Oh, right. He probably could sneak up on them in the dark and never be seen. He was pretty stealthy, too; he always won capture the flag…always. Nightfall would be too late, though. The hurricane would be right on top of us by then.

I heard a car door shut and raised my binoculars back to my eyes. I saw two people get out of a dark blue compact car and hurry toward the bank. When they reached the door, they stopped under the awning where the other four teens were standing. They tossed back the hoods of their green raincoats, and I immediately recognized one of them as Finn.

I couldn't help but stare at him for a few seconds. He still looked so familiar to me. Even with his shaggy blond hair now trimmed short and neat, I still got that same feeling I had last summer; I knew this guy from somewhere. Maybe it was a resemblance to the god he was descended from. He did have the blond hair and blue eyes that many children of Apollo have. Maybe he was a grandson or great grandson of Apollo.

I shifted my focus to his companion. It was a girl. She had long and straight blond hair, and she had an athletic build. When she finally turned where I could see her face, my blood ran cold. I blinked and adjusted the focus on my binoculars. I wasn't mistaken; it was her, my mortal friend from Manhattan, Nicole.

"What is she doing here?" I mumbled.

"What?" Lexie asked. "Do you know her?"

I nodded, "She's a close friend of mine from school."

"Close friend?" Lexie's voice sounded a little annoyed. "How close? Is she your girlfriend?"

"W-what? No," I stuttered. "She's just a friend." A friend that I had a bit of a crush on, but I wasn't about to tell Lexie that.

"She has clear sight?" Russ asked.

"No," I shook my head. "She doesn't."

"Then why is she with the Rebellion?"

I thought back to the dream I had last night: _"Are things with the mortal progressing as planned?"_ Barka had asked Finn.

"_She's right where we want her,"_ he confirmed.

"_We might be able to get Jackson after all."_

"They're using her to get to me," I said. "I've got to get Nic away from them. I've got to get her out of this."

I began to stand up, but Lexie grabbed my arm. "Slow down, hero," she said. "If they are baiting you, you'll fall right into their trap if you go in there head on."

Lexie looked back toward the bank through her binoculars. "It doesn't look like they're holding her against her will," she said, then cut her eyes at me, "She's pretty."

I blushed, "Yeah."

"She's not a hostage, not yet, so I don't think her life's in danger. And I don't think they'd hurt a mortal-," she paused. "Unless it was absolutely necessary."

I wasn't going to let it become _necessary_. I'd turn myself over to the Rebellion if it meant saving Nic.

I looked back toward the bank to see everyone except the guards walk inside. "I'm going in after her," I said.

"CJ," Lexie began to protest, but Russ interrupted her.

"Let him go after her," he said. "Then he won't be in our way when we go after the Fleece."

"Russ, they'll lock that place up tighter than Fort Knox if they catch him."

"I'll sneak in," I said. "If you two can create a little distraction to get the guards away from the door, I'll sneak in, find Nic, and get her out, without being seen. And maybe I can find where they're keeping the Fleece while I'm in there."

Lexie looked like she was chewing on her tongue as she mulled over my plan. "Fine," she said, finally.

"Okay," I nodded. "Give me about thirty minutes, and if I'm not back by then, assume something went wrong."

She nodded, "Got it."

Lexie and Russ ran around to the other side of the building, and I hunkered down behind a car that was parked by the curb. I was waiting for the guards to abandon their posts so I could make a break for the door. In just a few minutes, the alarms on three cars parked on down the street began blaring. That was the diversion, and it worked. The guards ran toward the sounding alarms, and I made a mad dash for the door.

I made it without being spotted, and I kept the hood of my raincoat up and the bill of my cap pulled down, so if I were to be seen by any members of the Rebellion, then maybe they wouldn't recognize me, and they'd just think I was another member.

The bank lobby was empty, and the door to the vault at the back of the room was closed. As I made my way down a hallway, I only saw one person, and he paid no attention to me. As I walked, I took in my surroundings. The building was three stories tall, and was a rather large bank for it's time. It likely had offices not only for bankers, but for other professionals as well. The first floor was rather deserted, so I took the stairs the second floor, which was bustling with activity. The second floor was made up of large adjoining conference rooms and a few smaller offices.

I tried to act as natural as I could as I walked down the hallway. As I pretended to know exactly where I was going and what I was doing, the members of the Rebellion who were all around never gave me a second glance. I finally spotted Nic when I was nearing the end of the corridor. She was sitting at a table near the door in a conference room. There were about ten other people in the room, but none were near Nic at that time, so I figured it was now or never.

I poked my head into the conference room through the open door. "Nic," I said softly. "Psst, Nic."

She looked over her shoulder to see who was saying her name, then she saw me. "Chase?" she said with surprise. "Chase, what are you doing here?"

I waved her over to me. "I need to talk to you…alone."

As she walked over to me, she still had that shocked look on her face. "Um, okay," she said.

I took her by the arm and cautiously led her down the hallway. I pulled her into an empty office and closed the door and the shades.

"What are you doing here?" we asked simultaneously.

"I thought you were at baseball camp," she continued.

"I am. I mean, I was," I stuttered.

"Then what are you doing in Marathon?" she asked.

"What are you doing in Marathon?" I countered.

"I told you I was coming to Florida for summer break to stay with my aunt. She lives here in Marathon."

Everything clicked. Nic was here in Marathon, the Rebellion was here in Marathon, the Fleece was here in Marathon, I was here in Marathon. It was all part of Barka's well-constructed plan. He was trying to get to me, and he planned to use Nic and the Fleece to do it. It was a good plan. He was using the two girls I cared about most, Nic and Lexie, as bait, and it was working.

"Chase," Nic said, bringing me out of my thoughts. "If you didn't know _I_ was here, then why exactly are _you_ here? And why do you smell like rotten fish?"

"It's a long story…a very long story, and I'll explain it to you later, but right now, you need to get out of here."

"Why?"

"These people are dangerous," I said.

She laughed, "No, they're not. They're my friends."

"No, they're not your friends."

She put her hands on her hips, "What gives you the right to tell me who I can or can't be friends with?"

"Nic, you've got to believe me. These people are just using you."

"Using me for what, Chase?" she asked. "They've been nothing but nice to me."

"They're manipulating you. They're using you to get to me."

"That's quite an ego you have," she laughed. "And why on earth would they want to _get to you_…whatever that means?"

"It…it's hard to explain."

"What is going on with you?" she asked. "You show up here out of nowhere and start ordering me around like you're the boss of me…just tell me the truth."

"The truth is I care about you, and I don't want to see you get caught up in all of this, and I definitely don't want to see you get hurt."

"Chase, these are good people. I don't know what gives you the idea that they'd want to hurt me."

"They're not good people," I snapped in frustration. "And it's not about you. You're just a pawn in their little game."

She threw her hands up in surrender and began walking toward the door. "I don't have to listen to this," she said. "If you're not going to be honest with me then-"

I grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the door and toward me. I guess I temporarily lost all common sense, because when she spun around, I leaned forward and kissed her. I don't know what I was thinking; I don't actually think I was, and I got what I deserved for my impulsive behavior. Her eyes widened when my lips pressed against hers, then she reared back and punched me in the gut, and I hit my knees.

I gasped for breath at being hit in my Achilles spot. Pain was something I rarely experienced, and when I did feel it, it always took my breath away. Pain is a horrible, helpless feeling, and I pity those who have to deal with it on a regular basis, which is pretty much everyone except me. Really, how do normal people make it through the day?

"Ugh," I coughed as I clutched my throbbing and aching stomach.

"Jeez, Chase, you act like I hit you in the nuts."

"Oh, I wish you would've," I groaned.

"What?"

"Never mind, just help me up," I said as I offered her my arm, and she helped me get back to my feet. "I'm sorry, Nic."

"I feel like I should be the one apologizing," she said. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay," I assured her. "I'm okay."

I was going to try to explain things to Nic as best I could, but the office door opened before I got the chance. Finn stepped into the room wearing a smirk on his face. He crossed his arms and said, "Well, look what we have here."


	11. Chapter 11

11. I Get Dumped

"Finn, thank goodness," Nic said with relief. "Chase is freaking out. Please tell him that you and I are friends and that he's just paranoid."

"Well, you see, Nicole, here's the thing," Finn began. "You and I aren't friends, and you should've listened to Jackson when you had the chance. I'm not sure what all he told you, but I'd wager every bit of it was true."

Nic looked like she'd just had her heart ripped out. "Wait, what are you saying?" she asked him.

"I'm saying you were our insurance policy. We knew Jackson would come after you once he realized you were with us. You were the incentive to get his foot in the door, well, you and the Fleece."

"You've got what you wanted," I barked. "I'm here. Now, let her go."

Finn shook his head, "I don't think so."

I reached for my pocket to grab my pen, but Finn was quicker. He drew his pistol and pointed it at Nic. "Not another move," he ordered.

My whole body froze and so did Nic's. Her lip quivered in fear, and a tear rolled down her cheek. Her voice was shaky when she whispered, "Chase…"

"She's mortal," I said. "Celestial bronze won't touch her."

Finn smirked, "Celestial bronze isn't the only ammo we carry. No, we find regular ammo comes in quite handy, too."

He had standard bullets in his gun, bullets that could kill not only half-bloods, but mortals too.

"Come," Finn waved us out of the office. "Barka wants to see you."

We stepped out into the hallway where a green-eyed girl with her black hair up in a ponytail was waiting; it was Mason. "Chase," she greeted me.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Abigail."

A smirk crossed her face when I called her by her first name. "Long time," she said to me.

"Not long enough."

"Follow me," she said, then lead us down the hall with Finn behind us still holding Nic at gunpoint.

Nic grabbed my hand and said, "I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you."

I squeezed her hand for reassurance, "That doesn't matter. I'll get us out of this." How I was going to do that, though, was still up in the air. I had not even a semblance of a plan in my head. I guess I'd have to take page from Dad's book and just improvise.

They walked us downstairs, through the bank lobby, and into the vault, the same vault I saw in my dream. They sat Nic and me down in chairs near a large steel table, and on the table, lay the Golden Fleece. I'm not sure what Nic saw on the table, what the Mist was manipulating the Fleece into, but I know she wasn't seeing a shimmering gold ram's fleece.

In just a moment, Barka walked into the vault, and the huge steel door closed behind him. "Chase Jackson," he said to me. "So good of you to make it all the way down to Florida. That must've been a long trip from Long Island."

"You would know," I sneered. "You made the same trip after you stole the Fleece."

He ran his hand over the Golden Fleece and said, "Ah, yes, the Fleece."

"Why'd you take it?"

"Many reasons: for its healing powers, to weaken the barrier around your camp, to lure you and that Grace girl here," he listed.

"Who?" Nic whispered to me. "You're here with a girl?"

I was expecting her to ask _what's the Fleece _or _you don't go to baseball camp, do you_, but instead she asked if I was here with a girl. "She's a friend," I whispered back.

"Where's the other two?" Finn asked about Lexie and Russ.

"I don't know," I said, and I didn't know. Hopefully, they were planning some sort of rescue mission. Surely, by now they'd figured out something went wrong. "What do you want with them anyway?" I asked.

"You know exactly what we want with them," Mason said, and I knew what she meant. They wanted them dead; they wanted all demigods dead.

I narrowed my eyes at Mason, "I bet your father's_ so_ proud of you."

She flushed, "My father?"

"Jake Mason, right?" I asked. Chiron and I had put two and two together about her parentage when we were discussing the Rebellion after my quest last summer. "Son of Hephaestus who fought alongside my parents in the Titan War. You'd dishonor a hero like that?"

"My father wasn't a hero!" she snapped. "He was a drunk who never gave a damn about me! He didn't tell me the things I needed to know about this world of gods and monsters; he just went on about how underappreciated he was and how he'd never be remembered and…" she paused and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "It doesn't matter now. He's dead."

I didn't know he was dead, which made me feel bad about what I said to her, but then again, he was a demigod and she wanted all demigods… "Did you-" I started to ask her if she'd killed her own father.

"I did," Barka interrupted. "I killed him."

_Whoa_. It suddenly hit me just how dangerous the Rebellion was, and for the first time, I really regretted saving Barka's life last year. Had I known things would go this far, I would've thought twice before pulling my enemy from a burning building.

"Chase," I heard Nic whisper my name. "What are you into?"

That question was inevitable, and gods, how was I going to answer it? "Umm…" I muttered.

"Nicole," Barka said. "It'd be in your best interest if you didn't ask anymore questions, and just try your best to ignore us. None of this is any of your concern, and it's very unfortunate that you were dragged into all of this."

"But-" she began to protest.

Barka cut her off. "Don't argue with me," he said in a sterner tone. "Just do as I say."

The guy had a commanding presence, and it shut Nic right up. He was definitely leadership material, and I can see how the Rebellion was so organized under his command; Barka made you _want_ to follow his orders; he made you _want_ to follow him. He was a full-on, modern-day Hitler.

"Barka, just let her go," I said. "You don't need her anymore. I'm here. You got what you wanted."

"What I want is for you to join us," he said. "You're practically one of us, anyway. You could be such an asset. You really could be a great leader within our organization. I just wish you could see that."

"I could never follow you, because I don't believe in your cause. I sympathize with your group's situation, I really do, but I'll never agree that what you're doing is right. I could never, _ever_ kill my own parents or kill my friends. Barka, there's got to be another way to help those with clear sight. Killing isn't the answer," I tried to reason with him.

"I really do wish there was another way," he said, and he sounded sincere. "But there's not. The Rebellion itself is only a small percentage of the population that has clear sight. The sheer number of clear sighted mortals and legacies make it impossible for us to help everyone deal with the horrors they see, so the most effective way to change their lives and their children's lives and their grandchildren's lives is to simply change the world they live in. When we rid the world of demigods and the monsters disappear, we'll all finally be able to live in peace."

Well, he was certainly passionate about his mission, and he was loyal to those like him, but that's what made him dangerous. In his mind, he was right, and he'd stop at nothing to see his mission successfully completed. And his followers were just as passionate. Barka killed Mason's father, and she was still fiercely loyal to him. Either she'd been brainwashed or she truly believed it was the right thing, and I'm pretty sure it was the latter.

"I'm going to stop you," I warned.

He shrugged, "So you say, but when the time comes, you may very well be fighting for our side."

I shook my head, "Never going to happen."

Barka walked over to Nic and ran his hand over her blond hair in a kind of threatening way. "Never say never, Chase," he said. "I can be quite persuasive."

I was about to jump up and strangle the son of a bitch when suddenly, all the lights went out; the storm must've cut out the power. The words Poseidon had said to me earlier rang in my head: _the storm will be a distraction. Use it to your advantage, but don't let it distract you._

I heard Finn on his radio, asking the person on the other end about backup generators, which he was informed, had been sabotaged.

"Lexie," I whispered to myself. She and Russ must've realized something was up and were coming to the rescue.

It was pitch black in the vault. I couldn't see anything, but I found Nic's hand and grabbed it. I pulled her out of her chair, fumbled around until I found the steel table and grabbed the Fleece, which transformed into a jacket in my hand. Nic and I scampered over to the other end of the vault, as far away from the voices of Barka, Finn, and Mason as we could get.

"What now?" she whispered.

"Hunker down and cover yourself with this," I whispered as I handed her the jacket. "I've got a feeling things might get explosive."

Nic and I stayed silent and still, and we waited. And waited. And waited. I was expecting Lexie and Russ to burst into to the vault at any second, but they didn't.

"Jackson," I heard Finn's voice echo. "Where are you, Jackson?"

We sat motionless and even tried to quiet our breathing, so that maybe they couldn't find us in the darkness.

"I know you're in here," Finn's voice was closer. "It's only a matter of time before I find you."

I heard his boots against the concrete floor, his steps coming ever closer to us. I thought about drawing my sword, which surprisingly, they hadn't confiscated, likely because a sword is pretty much a useless weapon when the enemy is toting a firearm. The glow from the blade would only give away our location, though, so I decided to only draw my sword as a last resort.

His steps got closer and closer, and he was only a few feet away from us when he stopped at the sound of tapping on the vault door.

"What's that sound?" Mason's voice rang from the other end of the vault.

_Tap Tap Tap_

"Away from the door!" Barka yelled.

_Kaboom_

The blast was deafening, and smoke and dust rolled into the vault. The vault door now had a gaping hole in it, and enough light was shining through the crater that I could now see.

"CJ!" Lexie's voice yelled.

I grabbed Nic's hand and helped her up. "Now, we run," I said.

We took off running through the smoke and dust toward the door, and gunshots rang out behind us. I pushed Nic in front of me, so I could shield her from the bullets. I don't know how many times I was hit, several, I'm sure, but I never felt a thing.

When we ran through the door, Lexie and Russ were there waiting. "Let's go!" Lexie ordered, and we followed her out of the bank and into a hurricane.

The wind made me stumble, and the rain was coming down in sheets. "Hannah's here early!" I yelled over the sound of the howling wind and pounding rain.

Lexie looked over her shoulder as we ran toward the street. "She was the perfect diversion, though!" she yelled. "Your grandpa was looking out for you today!"

She was certainly right about that.

We ran across the street and took cover where we had earlier, by the old electronics store. Surprisingly, we weren't pursued. The shock of the hurricane's early arrival, and the fact that all of the guards were now lying unconscious on the bank lawn (no doubt, thanks to Russ) probably had something to do with it.

The members of the Rebellion seemed disoriented and panicked by the blast inside the bank and by the raging storm outside. I watched Barka run out of the bank with many other members of his group. He was barking out orders, and his followers obeyed. They were in retreat-mode. They quickly organized and began an efficient evacuation of the bank and the surrounding buildings like they'd practiced this scenario beforehand. They all began piling into the cars that lined the streets and driving away into the storm, likely to rendezvous at another location.

We needed to get moving ourselves. I was still gripping Nic's hand when I began to lead her away from Lexie and Russ. "I'll be back in a minute, guys," I told them.

I led Nic to the back of the building. I gripped her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Go back to your aunt's house," I told her. "Stay out of sight and answer the door for no one. If you notice anything suspicious, call the cops."

"What about you?" she asked.

"I got what I came here for," I said as I took the Golden Fleece in jacket-form from her hands. "Now, I've got to get back to New York before it's too late."

"Chase, I don't understand what's going on…and I don't think I want to know."

I nodded, "That's probably best. Listen, I'll call you when this all blows over."

She shook her head, "That's probably not a good idea."

My heart sank. "What?"

"It's just…I just don't know who you are anymore," she said. She probably thought I was a teenage James Bond in training, or I was in the middle of some sort of gang war, which was actually more believable than me being the cursed grandson of two Greek gods on a quest to recover the Golden Fleece, because that was just ridiculous. "This is a lot to process," she continued. "I'll…I'll just see you at school this fall, okay?"

"Nic," I pleaded.

"Thanks for saving my life, Chase." She hesitantly kissed my cheek like she thought I might bite her, then she took off running away from me through the driving rain, and she never looked back. I wondered if she'd ever look at me the same way again; I wondered if our friendship would survive this. With my luck, it was doubtful.

"CJ!" Lexie called to me. "CJ, come on! We have to take cover!"

I shook off being dumped by a girl who wasn't even my girlfriend as best I could and ran over to Lexie and Russ.

"We need to find shelter," she said. "The hurricane is right on top of us."

The wind growled, and I heard a loud popping and cracking sound, then I heard a shrill scream. I looked across the street to see Mason and Finn standing near a car. The scream was coming from Mason as she watched a utility pole snap and come toppling toward Finn.

"Jason!" she screamed as the pole fell, then Finn did something that shocked me. He looked up at the pole that was about to crush him, and he raised his hands as if to catch the enormous utility pole. A fierce gust of wind rose from his feet and obeyed the movements of his arms. The wind stopped the falling pole, and when he thrust his arms, it was like he was tossing the pole to the side, which he did. The gust of wind pushed the utility pole, and it landed ten feet away instead of on top of him.

My jaw was hanging somewhere down around my knees, and Lexie's was, too. We must've been thinking the same thing, and what I was thinking, Russ said aloud, "Holy shit, that's Jason Grace's son."

But he couldn't be…could he? Jason didn't have any kids, did he? It made so much sense, though. I now realized the reason he looked so familiar was because he looked like Jason Grace did when he was a teenager. Finn looked like he stepped out of one of those photos of Jason hanging on the cork board in the Big House. And the power over wind he just displayed was a classic Zeus power, a power Jason had. And apparently, Finn's first name was even Jason, likely after his father.

I turned to Lexie who had a look of utter shock and confusion on her face. She was able to manage a few words, words from her quest, "_Fallen from Grace_."


	12. Chapter 12

12. I Become A Punching Bag

As if on cue, lightning struck and thunder rumbled when we came to the realization that Finn may very well be Lexie's cousin, not only by godly lineage, but by blood as well. We stood motionless in a kind of state of shock as Finn and Mason got into a car and began driving away. I was about to turn to Lexie and ask her if it could be possible that Finn was Jason's son, but she took off running before I got the chance.

I don't know what was going through her head as she chased the swerving car down the street. I can only guess she truly believed Finn was her cousin, and with her mom teetering on the edge of death, I'm sure she felt like she couldn't risk losing anymore family.

Russ and I took off running after her, calling her name, and begging her to stop. As much as I sympathized with what all she was going through, I knew Finn didn't feel any kind of connection toward Lexie. He made it very clear that he would kill her given the chance.

I saw Mason stick her head and arm out of the passenger-side window of the car as it sped away, and gunshots rang out. She was firing at Lexie, which put an extra spring in mine and Russ' steps. I was sprinting at full speed, but Russ took off past me like a jet. Damn demigods and their super-human abilities.

I heard the bullets from Mason's gun whizzing past me; her aim was off. The car rounded a curve and disappeared from sight, but Lexie kept on running. When Russ caught up with her, he grabbed her by the collar of her jacket, spun her around, and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She was kicking and screaming and cussing Russ, but he ignored her.

"Jackson!" Russ yelled at me as I was running toward him. "We've got to find shelter!"

I looked around and saw an abandoned furniture store with its windows boarded up just down the street. "There!" I yelled, pointing toward the building. "Let's take cover in there!"

Russ ran toward the store with Lexie still draped over his shoulder and her pounding his back with her fists, and I followed. We dodged flying debris as we rushed toward the door of the building that would hopefully provide shelter from the raging hurricane.

When we reached the door, Russ bumped it hard with his hip and shoulder, and it came right open. We ran inside, I closed the door behind us, and pushed an old desk against the door to keep it shut.

Russ dropped Lexie on her ass on the hardwood floor. "Stay down," he ordered her.

Russ quickly found a chair, which he collapsed into, and he began carefully removing his raincoat and wincing as he did. It was then I noticed blood beginning to pool on the floor by the chair.

"Gods, Russ, what happened?" Lexie asked when she noticed he was injured.

"I took a hit," he winced.

Lexie began to get up off the floor, but Russ glared at her, "I said stay down."

"I'm a healer, Russ. Let me help you," she reasoned.

He chuckled, which only made him wince more. "You can barely heal a sprained ankle. What makes you think you can heal a bullet wound?"

Lexie's father was the god of healing, but she wasn't the greatest healer at camp. Sure she knew a few incantations, and she could work wonders with nectar, like she did on the Fourth of July when a giant crab put two gashes in her leg, but she had her limits. I wasn't sure if a bullet wound was beyond her abilities or not. When Russ finally got his raincoat off, and I saw the severity of the wound, I knew Lexie couldn't fix it, and so did she.

Russ' bicep had a chunk missing out of it, and blood was pouring from the wound. I'll say this about the guy: he was tough. I couldn't see how he was still conscious; he was losing so much blood, and it must've been excruciatingly painful.

Russ examined the wound. "Must've been celestial bronze to do this much damage," he said. Russ grabbed some bandages from his pack and wrapped his arm to slow the bleeding, then he turned to me, "Hey, Jackson, how about you bring me that jacket you've got there."

I looked down at my hand that was still clutching the Golden Fleece in jacket-form. At this point, it was probably the only thing that could save Russ' life. I took it over to him and gently draped it over the shoulder of his wounded arm.

He looked up at me and said, "It should heal my arm, but I'm probably about to pass out from blood loss, so keep an eye on Lexie. Don't let her take off. She'll only get herself killed."

I looked over at Lexie who was sitting cross-legged on the floor with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. "Got it," I said, but when I turned back to him, he was slumped over in his chair with his eyes closed. I checked his pulse. It was weak, but it was there. We just had to give the Fleece time to work its magic. Hopefully, he would be completely healed by morning.

I took off my raincoat, and began looking around the furniture store, which was fairly dark since the windows were boarded up. It was basically empty other than a few pieces of dusty furniture that had been left behind. I found an old sofa and loveseat covered in a plastic sheet near the back of the store. I pushed the sofa across the empty hardwood floor and parked it near Russ.

"Lexie," I said. "Help me get Russ onto the sofa."

She got to her feet, and we carefully lifted Russ out of his wooden chair and situated him onto the sofa where he could rest comfortably.

When we got him settled and made sure the Fleece was wrapped snugly around his arm that had stopped bleeding and was already beginning to heal, I pushed the loveseat up beside it so Lexie and I could have a place to sit other than the hard and dusty floor.

Lexie was staring down at Russ, and I couldn't tell if her expression was sorrow or anger.

"He probably saved your life, you know?" I said.

She didn't say a word, but she took off her raincoat and sat down beside me on the smaller sofa. It was silent between us for a moment. The only sound was that of storm outside.

She finally broke the silence, "He makes me so angry sometimes." I knew the feeling. Russ made me angry a lot; it was that Ares vibe he had. "He treats me like a child," she continued.

"I think he just wants to protect you," I said, and why was I defending him?

"I don't need protecting," she insisted. "I can take care of myself."

Normally, I wouldn't argue with her. Lexie was very self-reliant, but she did have a tendency to do some pretty rash things…like chasing after someone who was shooting at her.

"He doesn't trust me," she went on. "He questions my judgment too often."

"Well," I said. "Your judgment earlier _was_ kind of questionable."

"I was in shock, CJ. Give me a break."

I nodded, "I know you were. I think I was, too."

"Speaking of shock, how'd your friend handle everything? What was her name?" she asked.

"Nicole," I said. "And I think she handled it alright, considering, though I doubt she'll ever speak to me again. But who can blame her?"

Lexie shrugged, "Maybe she'll come around."

"After that explosion in the bank, she probably doesn't want to be within a hundred miles of me. And how did you and Russ blow the vault door, anyway?"

"With a homemade bomb or improvised explosive device, as Russ likes to call it," she said. "He's good with stuff like that." Son of the war god, I guess he would be good with bombs.

"Well, it's a good thing," I nodded.

"Is the Rebellion still trying to get you to join them?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "But I won't."

"I know you won't."

It was silent between us as I thought about Nic and the Rebellion. I also thought about Finn and his possible relation to Lexie, and I got the feeling she was thinking about the same thing.

Finally, I asked, "Do you…do you think it's possible?"

"That Finn is Uncle Jason's son?" She shrugged, "It's possible, I guess. I mean, he never mentioned he had a son, but that doesn't mean he doesn't."

"I don't see any other explanation," I said. "He looks so much like Jason and his power over wind…"

She nodded, "Finn always looked so familiar to me, and now I can finally place it. I actually had a dream while we were on the boat that kind of hinted that Finn might be related to me."

I nodded, "I had a dream like that, too."

"I just don't know why Uncle Jason didn't tell me about him. We don't keep secrets from each other."

Lexie and Jason were so close that an outsider might think he was her father, so it was odd that Jason would've kept that from her, unless… "What if he doesn't know?" I asked.

Lexie took a deep breath, "If Finn turns out to be the son he never knew existed, it'll break his heart."

I could see how Jason would be devastated to learn he had a teenage son who he doesn't know and who is a member of a group setting out to wipe the planet of demigods.

"What if he's not Jason's son? What if we're wrong?" I asked.

She shook her head, "I don't think we are. To have that kind of power, he's got to be second generation, and the only children of Zeus or Jupiter out there who are the right age to have kids is my mom and Uncle Jason."

She looked toward Russ and quietly stared at the Fleece for a moment. She must've been thinking of her mom and how sick she was.

"We've got the Fleece now, just like I promised we would. Your mom's going to be okay," I assured her.

"Only if we get it back in time," she said.

"We will."

She turned to me, fighting back tears. "I can't lose her, CJ."

I wrapped my arm around her, and she rested her head on my shoulder. I didn't say anything; I didn't know what to say, so I just held her. She looked so tired, and I knew she was. She'd probably only gotten a couple hours of sleep since she found out her mother was sick, and now she had this whole cousin thing to deal with. I was surprised she was able to keep herself together as well as she had.

"CJ," she said. "Do you remember the time when I lived in Manhattan, and Mom had to go out of town for a week?"

I smiled, "I remember. You stayed with us. You were so upset and scared that first day."

"I feel like that now," she admitted.

I was surprised to hear her say that. She rarely gets scared, and when she does, she fights like hell to hide it. "Do you remember what I told you then?" I asked.

"You told me as long as you were around, there was nothing to be scared of, that you'd always protect me."

"And that made you feel better, didn't it?"

"Actually," she said. "I think it was your mom's chicken soup that made me feel better."

I laughed, "She makes really good chicken soup, doesn't she?"

I felt Lexie laugh against my shoulder, "Yeah, I miss her soup."

I wanted to talk to Lexie a little more about Finn and how we should handle the situation, but she dozed off right there on my shoulder, so I let her sleep. With the hurricane hindering our getting out of the Keys tonight, I decided I should probably get some sleep, too, while I had the chance.

I don't know how long I'd been asleep, but I got a wake-up call in the form of Russ' fist slamming into my face.

"Russ!" I heard Lexie scream.

Before I was even fully awake, he had me pinned to the floor and was pounding on me with his fists. I guess his arm healed up just fine, but what I couldn't understand was why he was attempting to beat me up. It's not like he was hurting me or doing any damage. The shots he was taking to my face and my ribs were pointless.

"What's your problem?" I yelled between the strikes to my face.

"You're my problem!" he yelled as he continued to pound on me. "I was just starting to think you weren't so bad, then you pull a stunt like this!"

What on Earth was he talking about? What stunt? Was he delirious from his injury? "I don't know what you're talking about!" I yelled.

"Stop it, Russ!" Lexie yelled. "Get off him!"

"Keep your damn hands off my girlfriend!" he yelled as he slammed the back of my head onto the floor.

_Uh-oh_... He must've seen Lexie and me curled up and sleeping on the small sofa. I'm not going to say it wasn't nice to have Lexie sleeping on my shoulder, but that's all it was. I wasn't trying to steal Russ' girlfriend or anything like that, but it probably looked a lot different from his perspective.

I tried to fight back, but it wasn't much use. Russ had me pinned, and he was so big that I couldn't get him off me. Lexie was continuing to yell at him, but he wasn't listening. He had tunnel vision; his only focus was on the threat, which he perceived to be me.

"What in Hades is this?" I heard a man's voice from behind me say. "Stop fighting, you two!"

Russ didn't listen.

"Don't make me shadow travel down there!" the voice warned; it was Uncle Nico's voice. He must've been in an Iris message somewhere behind me.

Russ didn't stop hitting me, though.

"This. This is why I don't have kids," I heard Nico mutter while Russ drove his fist into my ribs.

Finally, Lexie'd had enough. She stomped up behind Russ and reached down to stop his swings at me, but before she could grab his arm, his elbow came back and popped her in the eye. She went flying backward and landed hard on the floor. Russ immediately stopped swinging.

"Lex!" he gasped when he realized he'd hit her. He didn't mean to hit her; it was an accident, but he hit her, nonetheless.

He ran over to her and tried to help her up, but she swatted him away. "Don't touch me!" she spat as she cradled her face with her palm.

"Lex, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Stow it!" she snapped again. "Get away from me."

Russ backed off, and Lexie got to her feet using a chair to steady herself. I'm not surprised she felt a little off balance. She took quite a hit. I scraped myself off the floor and walked over to her. I offered her my hand. "Here let me help you."

She swatted me away, too. "I'm fine," she insisted.

"Hellooo…" I heard Nico's voice, and turned to the IM. "I'm running out of drachmas over here, guys."

"Sorry, Uncle Nico," I said.

When Lexie noticed him, her expression changed from anger to panic. "What is it Nico?" she asked. "Is it Mom? What's happened? Is she-"

"Slow down, sweetie. Your mom's still alive," he said, and we all breathed a sigh of relief. "But I do have some bad news," he continued. "Lexie, your mother's condition is worsening."

Lexie took a deep breath, "How much time does she have?"

"Maybe twenty-four hours…maybe," Nico sighed.

"We have the Fleece," I said. "We can make it back before then."

Lexie shook her head, "Not with this storm."

"Don't worry about the storm," Nico said. "The worst of it will blow over in about an hour."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"I have connections in places other than the Underworld, you know," he said. "Just get moving as soon as possible, and watch your backs coming home."

I nodded, "Thanks for the update, Uncle Nico."

"No problem, kid," he said then waved his hand through the message, and his image disappeared.

Lexie sat down in the chair she was leaning against and buried her face in her hands. I knelt down beside her. "We'll make it," I said. "We will."

She lifted her head up and put on her strong-face, which had a swollen eye that would be black tomorrow. She nodded, "Damn right, we will."

I smiled. It was good to see the fearless and commanding Lexie return. She was able to set her emotions aside and strengthen her resolve. Sleep helped her focus, and the short timeframe cranked up her determination. She wasn't going to let her mother die, no matter what.

"Get your packs, guys," she said as she walked over to the sofa and put on the Fleece in jacket-form. "We're heading out."


	13. Chapter 13

13. Stowaway

It was early morning when we stepped out of the furniture store where we'd spent the night. It was still raining and the wind was still gusty, but the storm wasn't nearly as harsh as it had been yesterday. The hurricane was moving out of the Keys, and we were just catching the tail end of it. The streets of Marathon were littered with debris that had been scattered by the fierce winds, and some streets were flooded by the storm surge that was slowly beginning to recede.

It was a long and silent walk back to the docks where I'd parked the boat. And it wasn't that comfortable silence, either. It was that afraid-to-speak-because-of-what-I-might-say silence. We were all angry, so it was probably best that we didn't speak. To keep myself distracted from the awkward silence, I munched on a candy bar and drank the Dr. Pepper from my pack as we walked. I hadn't eaten since noon the day before, so I was starving anyway. Lexie led the way with Russ trailing behind her, and I brought up the rear, because I certainly wasn't going to turn my back on Russ. He'd probably jump me from behind if he got the chance.

When we reached the docks, my heart sank. Many stalls were destroyed, and boats were either beached or floating upside down just off shore. I was dreading reaching the stall where I'd parked the _Idus Martiae_, because there was no telling what kind of shape she'd be in, if she was even still there. When we finally reached the stall, I breathed a sigh of relief. The boat was no worse for wear, but she'd taken on quite a lot of water. It'd likely take the bilge pump an hour or so to pump out all the water. Other than the water, though, she was unscathed, and I gave my grandfather a silent thank you.

We boarded the boat, and I turned on the pump to begin siphoning the water out. There were a few buckets in the cargo compartment at the stern, so we began dipping out the ankle deep water to assist the bilge pump. It took just under an hour to rid the boat of the water, so we could finally get on the move.

I hit the key, and the engines fired right up. Russ was untying the line at the stern, and Lexie was heading to the bow to untie that line, when I heard her yelp. I looked toward the bow to see an arm grab Lexie at her torso. She was standing right at the open cabin door when she was grabbed by the stowaway. When the stowaway, still gripping Lexie, emerged onto the deck from his hiding spot in the cabin, I recognized him; it was Barka. My heart skipped a beat or several beats when I saw he had a gun pointed to her head. He adjusted his grip on her, putting his forearm at her throat, then he dragged her up onto the fiberglass top of the closed bow. She spat curses at him and struggled against his grip, but he was strong. He tightened his arm against her throat, and she stopped fighting him. She didn't look scared, just raging mad. Russ and I drew our swords.

"You didn't think you were going to get away that easy, did you, Jackson?" Barka grinned in that evil grin of his.

"Let her go!" Russ yelled.

"Son of Ares, I presume," Barka said to Russ.

"Damn right, I am, and I'll slice you into pieces if you don't let her go!"

Barka laughed, "Not with that sword, you won't."

He wasn't afraid of celestial bronze. "You're mortal," I guessed.

"That's right. Not a drop of godly blood flows through my veins."

He was a clear-sighted mortal, not legacy. That's why he had no problem at all with killing demigods; he had no connection, no relation to them. He was a normal guy who had the misfortune of having the Sight. No wonder he was so pissed off at the world.

"Where are your lackeys?" I asked, scanning the area for signs of any other members of the Rebellion.

"Oh, they're out there," he smirked, and I couldn't tell if he was lying or not.

"Where's my cousin?" Lexie gagged against the pressure on her throat.

"Your cousin?" Barka asked.

"Jason Finn. Son of Jason Grace. Grandson of Jupiter."

"So, you figured it out, did you?"

I nodded, "With power over wind like that, it wasn't hard to figure out."

Barka's expression hardened. "Used his powers, did he?" Barka said with disgust.

"Why is he even in your group?" I asked. "He doesn't exactly fit the profile. He's not a mortal."

"Finn is a special case. He's a member of the Rebellion only because I allow him to be, and he's forbidden to use his powers, because it tends to attract trouble."

"Trouble…you mean monsters," I said. "That's why he should be at camp with his father, not here with you."

Barka laughed, "Oh, you have no idea of the complexities of Finn's situation. No, he belongs with us, not you."

"How about you explain the complexities to us, then?"

Barka shook his head, "Not my place, but I will say, Finn's got good reason to want nothing to do with his father."

That bothered me. Jason's a good guy, a hero, and a father-figure to many campers, so what happened to make Finn have a good reason to keep away from his father?

Lexie must've been thinking the same thing I was. "You've brainwashed him," she snarled, but it just came out as a gagging sound. "My uncle Jason is a good man, the best. You've made Finn think all demigods are bad news."

"That's where you're wrong," Barka said. "Finn came to us. Not the other way around."

"Liar!" Lexie spat, and Barka just laughed with satisfaction.

I noticed Lexie begin to calm herself and steady her breathing, then she closed her eyes. I didn't know what she was about to do, but it had me worried. She didn't need to do anything rash with a gun pointed at her head. She slowly opened her eyes, and I watched as they rolled back until only the whites were showing. Quicker than a heartbeat, Lexie grabbed Barka's arm that was holding the pistol, and she shoved it upward. The gun fired, and it all happened so fast that I thought he shot her. He hadn't; in fact, Lexie now had him, and she was giving him the shock of his life. She'd dug down deep and retrieved that electricity within her. He was seizing like he'd grabbed a high voltage exposed wire, and being wet from the rain only made it worse for him.

The pistol fell out of his hand and rattled to the deck. I picked it up, but having never held a gun before, I didn't exactly know what I was doing. Russ swiftly grabbed the pistol from my hand. "Give me that before you hurt somebody."

Russ held the gun like it was an extension of his own hand, with a natural ease and confidence. He checked the gun with a sliding motion of the barrel, presumably to make sure it was loaded, then he pointed the weapon at Barka who was still convulsing in Lexie's clutches. Russ couldn't shoot; he'd risk hitting Lexie. It's not like he really needed to shoot Barka anyway. Lexie had the situation well under control.

Lexie staggered toward the edge of the boat, struggling to support Barka's weight as she continued to electrocute him. She finally got him to the edge, then pushed him over. He landed in a heap on the dock. He wasn't moving, and I could smell his singed hair and burnt skin. Lexie turned to us, blinked a couple of times, then collapsed to her knees.

Russ and I ran over to her and knelt beside her. She raised her head up, looking at us, and she took a few deep breaths.

"Lexie, are you okay?" I asked.

She blinked a few times. "What a rush," she said.

She quickly and steadily got to her feet, and I wondered how she was able to deliver such a blow and still be able to stand. It should have zapped all her energy, so to speak.

"It's a good thing I had this on," she said as she patted the jacket she was wearing, the Fleece. "Because that could've killed me."

The Fleece kept her power and energy restored and flowing, and it kept her alive. Thank the gods she was wearing it.

"What about him?" Russ asked as he pointed the firearm toward Barka's body. "Is he dead?"

Lexie shook her head, "Just unconscious. He'll be out for a while."

"I'll just put him out permanently," Russ said as he prepared to fire down at Barka.

I wanted to tell Russ not to shoot; my fatal flaw, my compassion was getting the best of me. The thought of murdering Barka in cold blood made me cringe, but maybe it was the best thing. Maybe it was the only way to stop all this. No…no, there had to be another way. Before I got the chance to tell Russ not to shoot, gunfire rang out, but it wasn't from the gun in Russ' hand. Another shot rang out, and the pistol in Russ' hand went flying into the water after being hit by a whizzing bullet. More shots echoed through the air, and bullets began to pelt the boat.

"Get down!" I yelled, and we dove off the bow and onto the deck.

I got to the wheel and shoved the throttle into reverse. The boat sped out of its dock, and I jammed the throttle forward just as members of the Rebellion were converging on the docks. They were continuing to fire on us, but the powerboat was fast, and we were quickly out of range.

We'd taken a hit to one of the motors, and smoke bellowed from it until it finally locked up and stopped running. One motor was enough to drive the boat forward, but it was a slow go. We really didn't have the time to spare, so I pushed the throttle all the way down and drove the thirty foot powerboat just as hard and as fast as she would go. I had to hope that the single motor would hold out until we reached Duck Key where we'd left Thalia's truck.

It took two hours to make it to the island, and we'd spent those two hours in near silence as we kept an eye out for sea monsters and other potential threats. I parked the boat in its slip that had taken only minor damage and tied her up. We looked across the parking lot and saw Thalia's truck still parked where we'd left it. Other than being covered in palm fronds that had been stirred by the storm, the truck was undamaged from the hurricane.

Lexie dug the key from her cargo pants pocket, and Russ quickly jerked it from her hand. "I'm driving," he said.

She glared at him and balled her fist. I thought she might take a swing at him, but she let it go. She and I walked around to the passenger side of the truck, and before she opened the door, she asked me, "CJ, will you sit in the middle? I can't…I can't be near him right now."

I agreed to.

She'd told me last night that he treated her like a child, and I'd just seen it first hand. I hated it as much as she did. She didn't deserve to be treated like that, and I think she was coming to the realization that she didn't have to put up with it anymore. She let it go this time, but I got the feeling there'd never be a next time. She and Russ were ripping apart at the seams. It sucked because they cared about each other, but I wondered if it was really worth all the fighting and distrust. Maybe it was just the tension from the quest and when we got back to camp they could work out their problems. But then again, maybe they couldn't.

When we got on the road, Lexie said, "Go to my house. We'll grab some cash, then head back to camp."

"Lexie," I said. "It's a long drive from Miami to Long Island. I don't know if we can make it in time if we drive."

She thought about it for a moment and nodded, "You're right. We'd never make it."

"Maybe you should catch a plane back, and Russ and I can drive," I suggested.

"That's probably the best option, Lex," Russ agreed.

"No," she said. "I'm not leaving you two. What if you get attacked again? I can't risk it."

"Lexie, we can take care of ourselves," I assured her.

"No," she shook her head with determination. "No, I won't do it. I won't leave you."

Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. I finally figured it out; I understood her fatal flaw. She was fearless in the face of danger. When Barka was holding her at gunpoint, she wasn't scared at all. She didn't fear for her own life, only others. That's why her mother's illness had her terrified. That's why she was scared that I'd been killed by the sea serpent. That's why she was scared to leave Russ and me now. Losing those she cared about was the only thing that frightened her…nothing else, not even her own death.

"Well, what should we do then, fearless leader?" Russ asked, his frustration with her clearly noticeable in his voice.

Lexie chewed on her lip for a minute, then said, "I think I know someone who can help. Just go to my house. I'll have to make a call."


	14. Chapter 14

14. Off to the Races

Russ pulled Thalia's truck into the driveway and abruptly stopped.

I peered out of the windshield. "Lexie, there's an alligator in your driveway," I said.

She noticed the twelve foot gator and said, "Eh, that's just Alli. Honk and she'll move."

Russ honked the horn, and sure enough, the big gator scampered off the driveway and around the house to the backyard.

"You have a pet alligator?" I asked Lexie.

She rolled her eyes, "Hardly, but this is her home, too. She's older than me. This was her territory long before Mom bought this house. She nests in the backyard every year."

"Is she…dangerous?" I asked.

"Of course, she's dangerous," Lexie said. "She's a wild animal. She protects her territory and her nest. She took a snap at my leg when I was five, because I got too close to her nest. But if you respect her space, she'll respect yours."

Russ pulled the truck into the garage and closed the door behind us. We went into Lexie's house, and she went straight to an address book sitting on the kitchen counter. She grabbed it and said, "You guys make yourselves at home. Eat, shower, whatever you need. I'll be in the garage. I've got to make a few calls. Just try not to kill each other while I'm gone."

Russ and I glared at one another for a moment after Lexie retreated to the garage. We came to a silent truce and went our separate ways for Lexie's sake. He went to the refrigerator, and I went to the shower. I still smelled like sea serpent guts, and I wanted so badly to get that stench off my skin and out of my hair. A hot shower was nice after being soaked to the bone in cold rain for two days. Thalia had a bottle of lemon juice in the shower, and I washed my hair and skin with it. I've heard lemon juice neutralizes bad odors. I guess Thalia had gotten into some smelly stuff while on her monster hunts, too.

When I walked out of the bathroom, I met Lexie in the hallway as she was coming in from the garage.

"Well, you smell a little better," she teased.

"It must be in my nose or something, because I still smell it," I said.

She smiled, "It'll wear off in a few days."

"Did you get in touch with whoever you were trying to contact?" I asked.

She nodded, "Help's on the way."

"Who did you call, Lexie?"

"The bounty hunters."

"The people your mom works with?" I asked.

She nodded, "They've got connections in this area. I thought we could take Chiron up on his offer."

"The centaurs."

"Hopefully Mom's crew can find them, and we can get a ride back to camp."

I smiled, "That's a good plan."

She playfully punched my shoulder. "You're not the only one with brains in this operation, you know."

Lexie and I walked into the kitchen where Russ had made a few sandwiches for us. I ate a ham and cheese sandwich (hoping Russ hadn't poisoned it) and drank a Dr. Pepper while we waited for the cavalry to arrive. As we waited, I noticed the sun had begun to peak out from behind the clouds and shine through the windows. Maybe it was a good omen. We'd had nothing but storms and trouble this entire quest. Maybe Apollo was shining down on his daughter today.

I was sitting on the sofa, flipping through TV channels when there was a knock on the front door. Lexie was in her room changing clothes, and Russ was in the shower, so I answered the door. A man and woman stood on the other side.

The man was middle aged with thinning salt and pepper hair, but he was still in really good physical shape. He was tall and buff and wore a crooked grin on his face. The woman wore a smile, too, but her eyes seemed to look right through me, like she was sizing me up for a fight. She was young, mid twenties maybe. She was very lean, and her long, dark brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail.

"You must be Percy Jackson's boy," the man said to me.

I nodded, "How did you know that?"

"You favor your dad," he said. "Very much so, except for the eyes."

"I've got my mother's eyes," I said. "I'm CJ."

I shook the man's hand who introduced himself as Bobby, and the woman introduced herself as Kyra, both Thalia's associates.

I raised an eyebrow at Bobby and asked, "You're not the same Bobby that crashed a Hummer in the Rocky Mountain, are you?"

He smiled, "The one and only, except I didn't crash, Tempest ran us off the road."

I laughed, "So I've heard."

"Your dad told you that story, did he?"

I nodded, "It's one of his favorites to tell."

"Kyra!" I heard Lexie yell through the house as she rushed for the door. Lexie got to the door and wrapped her arms around the woman. Apparently, they knew each other well.

"Lexie," Kyra smiled and hugged her back.

"Come in," Lexie invited them in.

We all got settled in the living room, and Kyra sighed, "I'm so sorry about your mom, Lexie. Any word on her condition?"

Lexie shook her head, "Not since this morning. Nico said she's got twenty-four hours, and that was about six hours ago."

Bobby shook his head, "Those damn centaurs are tough to get…motivated. They'll help, but they never seem to get in a hurry about anything. Plus, we've got to find them first."

"You haven't found them?" I asked with surprise.

"The crew is looking for them now," Kyra said. "There are very few centaurs that still roam this area. They're tough to locate sometimes, but our people will find them."

"You're sure?" Lexie asked.

Kyra nodded, "Positive. We all care about your mother, and we're going to do what ever it takes to get you and the Fleece back to camp before it's too late."

Bobby stood up from the sofa and walked toward the kitchen, gesturing me to follow him. I did. I figured it'd be best to give Lexie and Kyra some privacy, and I'm sure that's what Bobby was thinking.

We sat down on a pair of stools at the kitchen counter and Bobby said, "So, give me the story."

"Which part?" I asked.

"All of it."

I told Bobby about the Rebellion stealing the Fleece, Thalia's resulting illness, and everything that had happened on the quest so far, except the part about Finn.

He let out a low growl, "So, the Rebellion's been giving you guys hell, too, huh?"

I nodded, "They've killed at least two of our campers and tried to kill Lexie more than once. They've also been trying to recruit me."

"That's how they operate, kid. They've killed one our own and four Roman campers so far. They recruit all the clear-sighted mortals and legacies they can to increase their numbers. They're getting their forces up, getting prepared."

"Prepared for what?" I asked.

"War," Russ said as he walked into the kitchen. "They're preparing for a civil war between demigods and mortals."

"That's right," Bobby said nodding to Russ. Bobby held out a hand to Russ and introduced himself, "Bobby Chandler, son of Victoria, legion centurion. Retired, of course."

Russ shook his hand. "Roman, huh? Russell Banks, son of Ares."

"Ah," Bobby said. "Lexie's boyfriend. Thalia's had some…interesting things to say about your relationship with her daughter."

"I've already gotten the speech from her and Jason: break Lexie's heart and they break my neck. I got it."

"Wait a second," I said, trying to steer the conversation back on topic. "You really think the Rebellion will start a war? I mean, their strategy has been covert operations, not full fledged battle."

"Right now the Rebellion is in prep mode," Russ explained. "Recruiting, intel gathering, and small hits to size up their opponent. They won't go to war until they're ready, and right now, they're not ready. That's why I think we need to strike them before they have the proper forces to defend themselves."

Russ wanted to go to war with the Rebellion, and he wanted to do it now. The son of the war god would, but I didn't want this conflict to come to war. I knew it might; the Great Prophecy said as much, but I wanted to prevent it. I'd thought about the situation long and hard since I discovered I was the child of prophecy. This was on my shoulders, and I didn't want to be responsible for the possible deaths of hundreds. I wanted to negotiate a truce if I could. The Rebellion was a group of mortals. If we declared war with them, that meant killing them…killing people, not monsters, and I'm not a murderer, never plan to be.

"I don't like that idea," I said to Russ.

"_You_ wouldn't. Pansy."

I stood up from my stool and was about to get in Russ' face when Bobby stepped between us. "Whoa, easy there cowboys. I take it you two aren't the best of friends."

"I don't make a habit of being friends with brainless pond scum," Russ scowled at me.

I sneered right back at him, "And I'll be damned if I'm going to befriend a blood thirsty warmonger."

"Oy vey," Bobby muttered.

There was another knock on the front door, and when Lexie opened it, she called toward the kitchen, "Hey guys, our ride's here."

I walked into the living room to see three centaurs standing at the front door. They were sketchy looking characters, nothing like Chiron. They all had shaggy hair and shaggy beards and had what looked like neon-colored war paint covering their horse bodies.

"You kids ready to ride?" asked one of the centaurs.

Lexie nodded to him, "Absolutely."

We grabbed our packs, Lexie locked up her house, and we got well wishes from Kyra and Bobby before they left. The centaurs were chatty guys who kept going on and on about how they couldn't wait to see Chiron and pull a prank on him. They were definitely nothing like the clean-cut, disciplined, and wise centaur I knew, but they were friendly and funny, if not a little eccentric.

I got a boost onto the back of a centaur named Fred. "You ever rode bareback on a centaur before?" Fred asked.

I was so thankful Morgan wasn't around to hear that question. She would've made it out to be complete filth. "Not since I was a little kid," I told Fred. I'd rode on Chiron's back a few times when I was really young. I barely remember it.

"It's just like riding a Harley, kid. Hang onto my waist, and do not kick me. I'm a centaur, not a race horse."

I laughed, "You got it."

"Everyone ready?" the centaur named Bill asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Alright," he said. "Let's rock and roll!"

The centaurs took off like thoroughbreds out of a starting gate. I had to hold onto Fred's mid-section tight to keep from falling off the galloping beast. It wasn't long before the hard gallop became a smooth stride, and the scenery began whipping by so fast that it was just a blur. Centaurs can bend distance when they need to, so they can cover miles in seconds. I don't know how fast we were going, probably close to the speed of sound. I'd traveled like that before. Last summer I'd ridden on the back of a giant Python that could bend distance. It was a disturbing ride, not because of the speed, but because of the snake. I have issues with snakes. The centaurs weren't much different in terms of speed, but it was a lot more fun because I wasn't creeped out.

We made it to camp without incident in roughly six hours. Had we driven Thalia's truck, we'd just be making it out of Florida; we'd have never made it back to camp in time to save Thalia. We made our way up Half-Blood Hill and were met by a group of campers on patrol. They were poised to attack until they realized who we were. Noah was in the group, and he met us as we came to a halt under Thalia's pine, which looked so much worse than it had before we left. All the needles were yellow, and they were beginning to pile on the ground as the sick tree shed them.

We dismounted our steeds, and Noah came running. "Thank the gods," he breathed a sigh of relief. "We didn't think you'd make it back in time."

I shook my best friend's hand. "It was a close one," I said. "If it hadn't been for the centaurs, we wouldn't have made it."

The three centaurs split-up and headed into camp, no doubt to play their prank on Chiron, and when I turned to Lexie, she was staring up at her mother's dying tree. She held the Golden Fleece, still in jacket-form in her hands. "Someone give me a boost," she said as she looked up at the branch where the Fleece normally hung.

Russ picked her up with ease and put her on his shoulders. When she placed the jacket on the branch, it transformed back into the shimmering golden rams fleece. Nothing happened, other than that. The tree didn't miraculously heal and suddenly turn green again, but I didn't expect it to. It took a few weeks for it to get into its current condition, and I figured it would take that long for it to recover.

Once Lexie was back on the ground, she didn't waste a second. She sprinted toward the Big House; she went to see her mother.

"So," Noah began as we walked into camp. "You smell like you had a big adventure without me. What'd you do? Fall into a pile of fish guts?"

I shook my head, "Swallowed whole by a sea serpent."

He shrugged, "Close enough."

I dug into my pack and handed him a dark-green t-shirt that I promised I'd bring him as a souvenir. He lifted it up and read the screen printed words aloud, "All the nuts roll downhill to Florida."

"Truer words have never been spoken," I said solemnly. "The Rebellion had a major force down in the Keys."

"I take it you had some close calls with them?"

"And more," I nodded. "It's become even more personal; it's hit closer to home in more ways than one."

As we walked toward the Big House, I told Noah everything.


	15. Chapter 15

15. Changes

Final Chapter

I didn't sleep well that night. I should've slept like a rock, considering I'd been fighting monsters of the human and not-so-human variety for the past couple of days, but instead, I tossed and turned all night long. When I woke, the sun was up, barely, and I desperately needed a cup of coffee. I got dressed, careful not to wake up Jade, then headed toward the Big House where I knew I'd find Lexie…and a pot of coffee. I hadn't seen Lexie since we got back to camp yesterday afternoon. She'd been in the infirmary with her family watching over her mother, and I didn't want to intrude.

The Big House was quiet at this early hour, but I found coffee brewing in the rec room. I poured myself a cup, adding a copious amount of sugar, then started down the hall toward the infirmary. I stopped in my tracks when I heard my name being called from inside Chiron's office.

The door was open, so I poked my head in. "Sir?" I asked.

"Come on in," Chiron said. "Have a seat." I did.

"How's Thalia?" I asked him.

"Still unconscious, but Nico says her life aura is no longer fading. Apollo came by overnight, and he's confident she'll make a full recovery."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good news."

"It is," he nodded. "So, Russell told me about the quest."

"It was a doozy," I said.

"He wants to strike the Rebellion, you know," Chiron said.

"I know he does. What do you think?" I asked. "Do you think we should go on the offensive? Knock them out before they can hurt anyone else."

He shrugged, "What do you think should be done?"

"I don't think we should start a war," I said. "Maybe try to negotiate a truce with them."

"Diplomacy. Do you think that strategy will work?"

"Probably not, but we should at least try before we declare war." I paused, then went on, "I don't like the idea of killing mortals."

"Nor do I," he said. "But many campers don't share your compassion."

"It's not compassion," I said, bitterly. "It's morality."

"Morality…that word's pretty foreign to most campers. Too much like their godly parents, I guess."

I shrugged, "Maybe it's time to change that."

He gave me a weary smile. "Maybe so, but until then, why don't you go check on Alexandria, and we'll talk more later."

I nodded, "Okay."

"Oh, and Chase," he said as I was walking out of his office. I turned to him, and he smiled, "Go by the Aphrodite cabin as soon as you get a chance. They should have something to get that putrid smell off you."

I laughed, "I'll be sure to do that."

I walked into the infirmary to see Lexie sitting in a chair. Her head was resting on the cot her mother lay on, and she was asleep. She was always awake by sunrise, but not today; she must've had a long night. Thalia was still unconscious, but she looked better. Her color was returning, and her breathing was deep and steady. I looked around the room and saw Calypso was the only other person there. She was sitting on the far side of the room, and she patted the chair next to hers when she saw I'd noticed her. I walked over and sat down next to her.

"Good morning," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Good morning," I returned, quietly.

She looked at my foam cup and said, "You're too young to be drinking coffee."

"Blasphemy."

She snorted a little laugh, then said, "Congratulations on the success of the quest. You three did well."

I shrugged, "It's amazing what you can accomplish when you have to."

"True," she nodded. "So true."

"Where's Jason?" I asked.

"Home," she answered. "He hadn't left his sister's side the entire time you three were gone. He needed a break. I made him go home to clean up and get some sleep."

"Calypso, how long have you and Jason been married?"

"Fifteen years," she said.

"Why don't you two have any kids?" I asked. I was fishing for information about Finn.

She closed her eyes and sighed like that was a sore subject.

"I'm sorry," I apologized for the inquiry. "That's none of my business, is it?"

She looked at me, her eyes a little watery. "I'm very old, Chase, and fertility only lasts so long. I may not look it, but I've lived for millennia, cursed on that island. We both wanted children, but it just wasn't meant to be for us."

I sighed, "I'm sorry."

"Jason and I have each other and all you campers. We're happy with that."

I came to the conclusion that she had no idea about Finn, no idea that her husband had a son, which begged the question: why didn't he tell her?

"CJ," I heard Lexie say from across the room.

I excused myself from Calypso and went over to Lexie. "Hey," I said and offered her my foam cup. "Coffee?"

"Usually not," she said as she took my cup. "But definitely today." She sipped my coffee, and I could tell she was grateful for all the sugar. She's not a coffee drinker.

"She looks better," I said about her mom.

Lexie ran her fingers through her mom's black hair and smiled, "Yeah, she does. Dad said she'll be back to normal in a few weeks."

"I bet he's super-proud of you."

She rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't go that far. He's a god, remember? But he was grateful. He and Mom have a rollercoaster relationship, but he still loves her; I know he does."

She took a few more sips of coffee and handed the cup back for me to finish off the rest. She stood up and turned to her aunt. "Calypso, I need to stretch my legs. Do you care to stay with Mom for a while?"

"Not at all, sweetheart," she said. "Go get some air. I'll stay."

Lexie smiled, "Thanks."

"CJ," Lexie said as we stepped out onto the Big House porch. "I'm going to go talk to Uncle Jason. Will you come with me?"

That was going to be a hell of a talk, and I wasn't sure I wanted to witness it, but I couldn't tell her no. I nodded, "Sure."

We walked across camp in complete silence. Jason and Calypso's home here at Camp Half-Blood was a small cottage built near the edge of the forest behind the spear range. It sat all by its lonesome in a quiet spot cut-off from the main areas of camp. They were the only married couple at camp, and they only lived here during the summer, but I guess, staying in the Big House wouldn't really be private enough for them.

We stepped up to Jason's house, and Lexie hesitated before knocking. "I don't know if I can do this."

"It's big," I nodded. "And it'll change everything, but it has to be done."

"I know, but…"

"You want me to do it?" I asked.

She shook her head, "No. No, he's my uncle. I should do it."

"Okay," I said. "I'll be here for back-up if you need me."

She gave me a faint smile, "Thanks, CJ."

She knocked three times, and Jason opened the door a minute later. He beamed at his niece. "Lexie."

She hugged her uncle. "Hey, Uncle Jason."

"Come in," he invited us into his small living room. I sat down in a chair, and Lexie and Jason sat on the sofa.

"I was just about to come check on you and your mom," Jason said.

"I want to thank you for staying with her. It made me feel a lot better knowing you were there with her."

"Of course," he smiled. "She's my sister, through thick and thin."

"You know she only pretends to hate you, right?"

Jason shook his head, "She may not hate me, but that doesn't mean she likes me."

Lexie let out a little laugh, "Yeah, that's probably right."

"So, he said. "Tell me about the quest."

We told him about the hurricane and the hydra and sea monster. We told him about the Rebellion's stronghold in Marathon and how they'd kidnapped my friend, Nic. We told him about blowing the vault door to escape and how Lexie electrocuted Barka. Then Lexie took a deep breath and asked her uncle, "Does the name Finn mean anything to you?"

Jason sat up a little straighter. "Uh, I had a girlfriend whose name was Amy Finn, but that's been…gods, nearly twenty years ago."

Either Jason had the best poker-face I'd ever seen, or he had absolutely no idea that he had a son.

"What happened between you two?" Lexie asked, carefully.

Jason shrugged, "We dated for several months while I was living with your mother in L.A."

L.A. Finn mentioned he was from L.A. when I first met him last summer.

"I liked Amy," he continued. "She was a great woman, but Chiron needed a trainer here at camp, and I was jobless and about to be homeless, because Thalia was moving to Miami to go to work for the bounty hunters, so Amy and I split-up, and I came here to camp."

Oh, I did not like where this was going. "Was it a bad break-up?" I asked.

"I wouldn't say it was a bad break-up; it was a hard break-up. We cared about each other, but she and I both knew L.A. wasn't where I needed to be. It's hard to stay sober in a city like that."

Sober? What? Had I missed an exit on the information superhighway somewhere?

"Anyway, it was tough, but we both decided it was for the best. And why the sudden interest in my ex-girlfriend?"

"Have you spoken to her since?" Lexie asked, avoiding his question.

Jason shook his head, "No. No, I haven't. Why? Did you meet her or something?"

Lexie took a deep breath preparing to drop the bomb- the thermonuclear warhead, in fact. "We met her son. Your son."

Silence.

Jason blinked. "Pardon?"

"There's a high-ranking member of the Rebellion by the name of Jason Finn," Lexie said.

Jason shrugged, "That doesn't mean he's my son."

"He's from L.A.," I added. "And he's a legacy, a descendent of the king of the gods himself."

"And he looks just like you, Uncle Jason," Lexie said.

"Lexie, Amy and I never had a child."

"Are you sure about that? I mean, come on. Isn't it possible she was pregnant and never told you?"

"Sweetheart, I think I would've noticed if my girlfriend was pregnant."

"Maybe not," she said. "What if it happened near the time you left town? You said it was nearly twenty years ago, and Finn looks to be about eighteen or nineteen years old. It's possible, and Barka even said it; he said Finn was my cousin, and he didn't mean just by godly lineage, he meant by blood."

"Sweetheart, the Rebellion's playing you, manipulating you."

"I don't think they are," I said. "Not in this case, anyway. We met Finn on the quest to find Morgan last summer. Lexie and I both thought he looked familiar then, and he seemed to have a deeper interest in Lexie than anyone else. He knows who he is. He has powers, strong powers, power over wind, like you."

"He's too powerful to be third or fourth generation," Lexie added. "He's your son. I know it. I can feel it."

Jason rubbed his temples then his eyes. "I…I…"

"Contact her," Lexie said. "Contact Amy if you don't believe me."

"It's not that I don't believe you, Lexie. It's just…"

"It's a little far out there," I finished for him. "You doubt that it's true. I don't blame you, Jason, but you should try to find out the truth, because if he really is your son, he needs you. He's in a bad way with worse people, and he's on the road to becoming a killer…if he isn't one already."

Jason was flushed and looked like he might pass out. I'd never seen him like that before. I guess the possibility struck home, and he was trying to wrap his mind around the concept. "I…" he stood up from the sofa and began walking toward the back of the house. "Excuse me. You two can see yourselves out."

"Stupid. Stupid," Lexie scolded herself as we walked out of Jason's house.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," I told her. "We both knew this was going to be tough. We both knew he probably didn't have any idea he had a son."

"That bitch," Lexie scowled. "How could she not tell Uncle Jason that they had a child? What gives her the right to keep a secret like that? Grr, what a selfish bitch."

"Easy there, killer. We don't know the circumstances. Barka did say Finn's situation was complex."

She gave me the stink-eye, and I conceded, "Yeah, what a bitch."

…

A lot of things changed over the course of the next several weeks. The poisoned pine tree had recovered, and the Fleece was now being guarded by Maximus, Morgan's gigantic pet Python. It's just temporary until we find a suitable guardian or until Peleus reforms.

Thalia came out of her coma and made a full recovery. She was able to go home within a couple of weeks. She was so proud of Lexie that she didn't even get too upset that we'd borrowed her truck.

Camp was in an uproar about what to do about the Rebellion. We were divided about which course of action to take: some wanted war, some diplomacy, and some didn't know where they stood yet. It was a headache that I was right in the middle of. Slugfest campaigns to sway campers was not my idea of fun. Politics suck.

Jason tried to contact his ex-girlfriend, but he found out she died about five years ago. Jason hired an investigator and learned that the timing was right for Finn to be his son, but the circumstances surrounding Amy's death, and the reason she never told Jason they had a child were still clouded in mystery.

Jason took the news pretty hard. He was devastated that he'd missed out on his son's life, but he was determined to find Finn and bring him home where he belonged. I had my doubts that Finn would ever leave the Rebellion, but you never know. Miracles do happen.

Proof in miracles: Lexie and Russ broke-up. I know that sounds harsh, but the guy's an asshole, and Lexie deserves better. It was tough on her, because she really did care about him, but sometimes love just isn't enough. She made the call to end it, and I think sometimes she regretted it, but she'd be alright. She just needed time to get past it.

Another big change: Noah was no longer a year-rounder. Turns out, he and Uncle Nico kind of bonded while Nico was here at camp, and Nico got Noah into a boarding school in Jersey. Which was going to be awesome. Noah would be just across the river, only an hour away, so we could hang out on the weekends during the school year. We were pumped about it. Uncle Nico never said why he took such an interest in Noah, but I figured he saw something in Noah that no one else did. Nico's kinda weird like that.

Leaving camp was as bittersweet this year as it had been last year. I'd miss camp and all my friends here, but I was a little homesick, too. I missed my mom and dad. Three months away from home is a long time, and this summer had been a rough one. I was tired, and I was ready to go home.

**AN: I want to thank all of the readers and reviewers for taking the time to read _To Save a Parent_ and for all the wonderful reviews. I truly appreciate every single one of you. I hope everyone enjoyed this second installment of _Heroes and Legacies_, and I hope to see everyone back for book 3. The first chapter of _Heroes and Legacies Book 3: Timeline _will be published in a couple weeks, and I hope to be able to update it weekly. Most canon characters will appear and play a big role in H&L 3, and the setting for the fic is canon as well (TLO). The summary for H&L 3 is on my bio. Again, thanks for reading and for all the support. -dmac**


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